Girl Meets Screen Shots
by jazlouis
Summary: One shot stories taking a look into specific screen shots of the girls and their friends lives after a small, stupid little incident between Lucas and Maya. Each story is in chronological order, though the moments might not follow one another directly.
1. The Incident

**I'm just throwing together various One Shots of what happens to the gang after this faithful incident. New chapters might say how much time has passed, but each chapter can be "read alone" though they all fall within the same world and timeline.**

Ever since Riley was given her own subway pass from her parents, Maya had gotten use always taking the train with her best friend. It seemed odd now waiting alone in the subway station, but still, it wasn't as if she hadn't done this time and time again. Leaning against a post, Maya continued to wait impatiently. The Matthews were on their way to Riley's grandparent's house. As per usual Maya was invited along but this time around she said no, and she was starting to greatly regret that decision. It was just for the day at least, she'd spend some time downtown and before she knew it, the day would be over and Riley would be back.

"Hey Shortstalk."

A smirk grew on Maya's face at the voice. The first time she ever heard that nickname it hurt her more than she could possibly imagine, though it was more the fight that happened with Riley that really hurt. Since then though, the nickname didn't hurt, in fact Maya find it oddly delightful. Turning slowly she replaced her smirk with a snarl. Her head turned up slightly so she could meet Lucas' eyes.

"Huckleberry I do believe discussed that name before."

Lucas took a few short steps toward Maya and leaned down so their faces were barely inches apart.

"You stop calling be Huckleberry, I'll stop calling you Shortstack."

"If that's what you'd prefer Ranger Rick."

"Still not gonna break me."

Pulling back slowly, Lucas grinned brightly. It wasn't often that Lucas and Maya spent too much time alone together. It happened on the rare occasion, typically in the halls of school or the occasions they ran into on the way to Riley's house. Maye returned to her leaning position and Lucas joined her.

"So what are you doing here anyways? I though Riley was going to her grandparent's."

"That is correct. Contrary to typical belief though I don't always join her on family outings, I am capable of spending time on my own."

There was a slight bite in her tone as she spoke. It wasn't supposed to come out that way. It wasn't how she meant it. It was just that this specific Matthew Family outing was not one Maya wanted to be a part of, and her reason for it made her slightly ashamed. Despite wanting to apologize for the way it sounded, knowing full well the bite was directed toward herself, she stuck to her guns. Her face remained stoic as Lucas's eyebrow rose slightly and his head tilted.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that at all."

"Whatever Huckleberry."

Shaking his head Lucas turned away from Maya for a moment. She was a tough person to crack. Despite how honest she could be with what's going in her world, she still kept so much in. Lucas tried time and time again with Maya, to make sure she knew she had more than just Riley to rely on. It wasn't easy but at times he really did think she was getting as comfortable around him as she was around her best friend. It was a work in progress, slow work, but still it was progress.

Maya and Lucas fell into a comfortable silence as they both waited for their train. There was no discussion of where each of them was going. Lucas had his own plans for the day, but those changed the moment he ran into Maya, the moment she snapped ever so lightly at him. Today Lucas would be tagging along with his good friend. That mini outburst made it clear she needed him and that was all that mattered. Even if she wouldn't admit it, it was obvious being alone while Riley was away was not going to be good for her. Pushing off against the post, his mouth opened slightly to speak when suddenly Maya darted in front of him.

"Crap, what is he doing here? He's supposed to be with the rest of the family."

The quickness in her voice worried him. Lucas' head began darting around, attempting to find the reason for her sudden anxiety.

"Wait who? Maya what's wrong?"

"It's Josh!"

Glancing up at Lucas, Maya's eyes were wide, worried. Her hands quickly rose to her head and she tried to cover her face with her hair. Lucas held back a laugh as she continued to mess with her hair to hide. Of all the things that could make Maya noticeable, her long blonde hair was definitely the most obvious. That hair was unmistakable from miles away; at times Lucas could find Maya in a crowd even before finding Riley. It was starting to make a bit more sense to him now, why she didn't go with the rest of the Matthews.

"I didn't realize seeing Josh was such a big deal. I thought you see him all the time at Riley's."

"You don't get it. I haven't seen him since I made a fool of myself in front of his future college people. I kept it together for the rest of the night, but I so massively embarrassed myself. I don't know why I said what I said to him. I should have just kept my mouth shut. I don't know what to say to him now. It was easier when he thought it was just some stupid crush."

The words just spilled out of Maya's mouth as a ramble. Dropping her head she continued to try and hide herself while Lucas took the opportunity to finally locate Josh. He was standing a couple feet away, just waiting for his train, as of yet, Josh hadn't noticed either of them. Lucas' hand reached under Maya's chin and gently lifted her head.

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You were honest and open and there is nothing wrong with that. But if you're that worried, just make it seem like you've already moved on. If he thinks you're interested in someone else, he won't think much of what you said. You can just start fresh so to speak."

"And how Huckleyberry am I supposed to do that? Everyone knows I like Josh and Riley knows there isn't anyone else I'm interest in. How would that work? Have any bright ideas in that cowboy brain of yours, cause if not I'm gonna bolt in about 5 seconds."

Before he could think of a reason, Lucas realized Josh had noticed them. The panic in Maya's eyes was growing despite the strength in her voice as she spoke. As Josh began to make his way toward them, Lucas began to panic for Maya. His mind was blank on helping her all he knew was that he had to do something, anything. There was just one thought that ran though his mind _like you've already moved on_.

Lucas' body was reacting before his mind knew what was happening. The hand that was on Maya's chin moved slowly down around her neck. In one swift motion, Lucas stepped toward her, his other hand wrapped around her waist and his hand on her neck helped tilt her head back. Leaning down Lucas' lips crashed against Maya's, the hand around her waist pulling them closer. Maya's eyes widened before fluttering closed as the kiss continued. Without breaking the kiss, Lucas' eyes found Josh watching the uncle of Riley as he stopped in his tracks. Josh's eyes widened lightly and he looked around awkwardly before finally tuning on the spot and walked away. Once Josh was no longer looking, Lucas' eyes closed. Milliseconds seemed like ages as their lips started to part slowly. Lucas' hand on Maya's back slowly slid up, pulling her in closer toward him, their bodies pressed tightly against each other. Just as quickly as it happened Lucas dropped his hands from Maya and took a step away from her, backing into the post. His hand rose and scratched the back of his head.

"Um…well Josh left."

Maya stared up at a Lucas for a moment, her eyes wide as she tried to think of something to say. That was not the first kiss she expected, it wasn't supposed to be Lucas. Sure everyone was already under the impression she had been kissed before and she helped perpetuate the belief. But now she had Lucas as her first kiss. Worst yet, it was a good kiss, not there was anything to compare it to, it was just one of those things a person knew instinctually. It was a good kiss, a great kiss, a curl your toes stop your breath kind of kiss. Her mouth gapped opening slightly as she continued to search for something to say, anything to say, but nothing came, her mind was blank. Finally Maya had the conscious thought to close her mouth and began glancing around the subway station, as if to make sure Josh was really gone. Truthfully she just needed a moment, anything to calm herself down before facing Lucas again.

"It was the first thing that came to mind, I'm sorry Maya. Figure if he saw you kissing someone, it would be the easiest way for him to think you'd've moved on."

Taking a deep breath, Maya pulled a composed face before turning back to face Lucas, flipping her hair in the process.

"No need to be sorry, didn't see his face, but the fact he's long gone I guess it worked like a charm. You helped me out Huckleberry so thanks."

For a moment that felt like hours they just looked at each other, both attempting to sort out what had really just happened. He wasn't supposed to close his eyes, he was supposed to step away from her the moment Josh walked away. She wasn't supposed to enjoy it, she should have pushed him away the moment it happened, regardless of the fact he didn't mean it _that_ way. Their lips weren't supposed to part. They should not have kissed at all. He should not have done that and the reason was barreling through both of their minds.

"Riley."

They spoke at the same time. The shock was fading, or at least taking a backseat for the time being. _Oh god what have I done._ Lucas continued to nervously scratch the back of his head and Maya began to pace.

"I'm gonna have to" "Josh will tell if I don't" "I probably should have thought that whole thing" "She'll understand" "She'll know it didn't mean"

"Oh my gosh Huckleberry SHUT UP."

Lucas fell silent.

"You were just helping me in a sticky situation and it didn't mean anything. You know it, I know it, and Riley will too when I tell her tonight. Besides, no offense Ranger Rick, but it wasn't that impressive of a kiss to begin with. All fish lips. Next time you kiss Riley you might want to work on that."

As Maya spoke she finally stopped paced and stood still in front of Lucas, ending her mini speech with a sharp poke in his chest. With a smile on her lips, she took a glance around the station, hoping beyond hope any train would be arriving any moment now.

"I'll keep that in mind Shortstack."

Not a single train was coming; all of them must have been delayed. Or maybe every single train had ceased to exist. There was never going to be a train again. They were stuck in this moment for the rest of their lives. Maya was getting anxious again and this time it had nothing to do with Josh. _Run, just run._ It was the only thought in her mind now.

"Well Huckleberry thanks again for the help. I'll see you later."

With a salute she turned on her heel and walked back toward the stairs leading up to the street. Lucas opened his mouth to call out, he wasn't sure what he was going to say. Maybe something about missing her train, or maybe it would have been about Riley. Maybe something about it being a great kiss – no not that, definitely not that. Never that. Instead as Maya started up the stairs his mouth closed. Falling backwards into the post, tilting his head back he stared up at the ceiling.

"What did I just do."


	2. Moving On

It was a week, the longest week of Maya's life when Riley didn't speak to her. A week of completely and utterly avoiding Lucas, of sitting in the back of the Mr. Matthew's class, of stopping at Riley's window only to find it locked. Riley wasn't speaking to Lucas either, but she forgave him soon. At least this wasn't a daily lesson in History class. Mr. Matthews let this life lesson go on without even acknowledgment.

While Maya and Riley, and Lucas and Maya finally returned to normal, Maya and Lucas were nowhere near. Maya stopped turned toward Riley in class. It was easier sitting straight, because the other option was catching Lucas' lips in the corner of her eye. It was all she could focus on whenever she saw him. Luckily the height difference made it easier to stare at his lips without anyone noticing. They were never in the same room alone; never got the chance to talk over what happened. Not that either of them needed to talk anything through, after all it meant nothing, it wasn't repeating over and over again in either of their heads.

Sadly it was impossible for her to get the whole thing out of her head, no matter how hard she tried. There was no one to talk to about it, she couldn't say anything to her best friend. After all, it was Maya reiterating over and over again that she was not and never had been interested in Lucas. And that was true…but there was something about that kiss.

Walking into the Matthew's household Maya flopped down onto the couch. She didn't bother to check with Riley to see if they were even going to be home. She rarely did. But as she laid on the couch Maya slowly began to realize the house was quiet, a little too quickly. Intrigued, she got up and started toward the bedrooms, her arms swaying at her side. Before she even turned the corner out of the kitchen, she bumped into a hard chest, stumbling backward.

"Maya what are you doing here?"

Taking a few moments to right herself, Maya looked up to meet the eyes of the guy that started it all. Sort of.

"Uncle Josh shouldn't I be asking that question? I happen to be here far more often than you."

"You make a very valid point, but are you aware that no one is home right? Auggie had something for school and the whole family went."

Frowning Maya walked back to the couch and sat down. Damn. She was hoping to have something to distract her today. Last night there had been a very vivid dream and something had to be done to remind her how much of a horrible idea that dream was. Staring straight Maya zoned for a moment until she felt the couch cushion drop slightly from movement next to her. Josh stared intently at the blonde girl next to him for a moment. None of this was the way she acted around him. Mind you they hadn't even seen each other since the incident in the dorm room. Well there was the moment he saw her kissing Lucas, but he knew she hadn't noticed him then. It would appear a lot had happened since the last time they interacted. The last time she jumped on his back stealing his acceptance letter.

"She forgot to mention it to me."

"You doing okay Maya? You seem a little…off."

The intent was good, the question was supposed to be supportive. Or something. But it wasn't exactly a question Josh had ever asked Maya before. Despite all her flirting, all her obvious interest, she was still his niece's friend. His younger niece's friend. Maya didn't say anything in response, she just continued to stare straight. Josh was at a loss, a silent Maya was not normal. Reaching up he grabbed his bean and pulled it slowly off his head, scrunching it up in his lap.

"Look Maya, I don't know how to say this, but…well…I saw you at the subway station. A couple weeks ago."

The start of the conversation was enough to pull Maya's attention away from the staring. Her eyes fell on Josh. She knew he saw, that was the whole point of this kiss after all. Never in her wildest dreams though did she expect him to bring it up, especially not to her.

"Oh, you saw when…"

"You kissed Lucas."

"Ah yes, that. I remember that too."

"I just wanted to let you know, I didn't say anything to Riley. I don't know what's going between you two, but I do know it's not my place to interfere. I mean I think you should…"

Maya held up her hand to silence Josh. Not for a moment did she think she'd be having this conversation with Josh. The whole kiss was just so stupid, it never should have happened. Still she was so surprised that Josh said nothing to Riley. It was one of the reasons Maya was so set on telling her best friend. Apparently she didn't have to say anything, she could have completely avoided the whole week of being without her best friend. Things could have never stopped being normal.

"Riley knows, I told her. It was just a stupid little kiss it didn't actually mean anything."

A smirk grew on Josh's face. Based on what he saw, that was not just a stupid kiss. It was one of the reasons he so abruptly left. The second he saw that kiss he felt like he was watching something very intimate, something he had no right witnessing.

"From what I saw that was not a little kiss, but if you say so."

"And how intently were you watching exactly Josh? Jealous?"

Josh's head tiled to the side as Maya made a very impressive attempt to change the conversation. It really was deflection at its best. Jealousy was not the factor, at least not really. For Josh he was just so use to the attention, it was odd almost, when the attention wasn't there. It wasn't that he wanted her interest, but it was the norm. It's how they interacted. It was different now. Even as Maya attempt to flirt with him, it wasn't the same. There wasn't the same emotion in her eyes as he was used to.

"You know the situation Maya. Besides if you like Lucas there doesn't necessarily have to be anything wrong with that."

"I didn't like Lucas, I mean I don't like him." Maya turned her head slightly so she didn't have to face Josh as she spoke. "If you must know I knew you were there, we both did. It was a stupid attempt to make you think I'd moved on so I'd be able to face you again after what happened in the dorm room. As you can see it didn't really work the way it was supposed to. Still can't face you."

Lucas was intended to prove that Maya was moving on from Josh, and now she needed Josh to prove that the kiss was nothing. After a moment passed she turned back to look at Josh, a faint smile on her face as she shrugged. The kiss needed to be nothing; Josh needed to believe her story. It was the truth, at the time. That was all it was.

"I'm sorry you thought you couldn't face me. If it does make you feel any better, I definitely thought you had moved on." Josh swayed on the couch, knocking lightly into Maya's shoulder. "Might still think you have."

Standing up Maya walked behind the couch, leaning forward she stuck her head right next to Josh's so their checks were touch. Her hand reached up and ruffled Josh's hair.

"Don't forget Uncle Bong I'm in it for the long game."

There wasn't the usual honesty in her voice when Maya spoke. It sounded almost like a line she'd repeated over and over again. Like it had lost all meaning. Like it was just the expected response. Maybe he was right, maybe she had moved on. Pulling up straight she patted Josh on the head then walked out of the apartment.


	3. Group Gathering

**Hope y'all are enjoying the stories :) Feel free to leave comments those always make me happy**

"Here is to another weekend free of homework and worry."

Topanga's was unusually dead, only Maya and Riley were there slipping on their smoothies in their usual spot. Everything was finally back to normal and it had been for quite some time now. Maya lifted her glass toward her best friend.

"We have a paper due for English on Monday Maya."

"You have a paper, I have a very exciting weekend of laziness and fun."

Shaking her head, Riley decided to just cheers Maya instead of arguing. There wasn't a point honestly; no amount of pushing was going to get her to actually write the paper. It took years, but Riley had perfected the art of the right push with her best friend. There was a skill in deciding what was worth fighting and what was best left to fight for another day. A paper, definitely a fight for another day.

"I'll miss you next year in high school."

Maya grinned brightly knowing she won for now. Though to be honest she had already finished the paper, it wasn't exactly a complicated one. Still it was fun watching Riley squirm at the thought of her best friend not making it though a class was too good to pass up.

"Like you'll ever be able to get rid of me. I've already got a deal with your dad. He'll make sure I pass 8th grade and I make sure you survive the High School. It's a win win for everyone involved."

"I resent that, I can survive high school. I'll be just fine. I'll just need to find the perfect group – a best friend, loyal but dorky smart guy, and Mr. Perfect."

With her hands held together, Riley's head tilted to the side, smiling thinking about high school. There was still the school year to finish but high school was just around the corner and there was no denying she spent hours thinking about it. High school would probably change everything, and truthfully she couldn't imagine it with anyone other than the group she already had. A few months ago was the worst time Riley could have ever imagined. For nearly a week she thought she'd lost her entire group. The only person left was Farkle and it was as if her entire future that was one so clear was completely blank. The future was finally back into focus and being able to see it all again was perfect.

"Thank goodness you've already got all of those. No need to search any longer."

"Yaaaaaay"

Riley jumped from her seat as she screamed while Maya just shook her head laughing. Behind them the door squeaked softly as it opened. The earlier silence of the café was quickly filled with two arguing boys.

"I don't care how many expansion packs you have, if you can't use the basic skills you're a goner."

"What are you talking about?! The gadgets are all you need!"

Rounding the couches, Lucas and Farkle made their way to sit down. Frakle was quick to take the seat right next to Riley. There was a millisecond of hesitation as Lucas realized he would be sitting next to Maya. It was the only option. Taking a seat toward the edge of the cushion, he did his best to keep all of his limbs on his side of the couch, attempting to keep a bit of distance between Maya and himself. The only person who seemed to notice was Maya, who pulled her legs down from their crossed position on the couch, helping to increase the space.

"Huckleberry, Farkle, this is not video game chat time. This is friend saving time. Riley is under the impression she can replace us all when she gets to high school."

"But you can't! I have a plan and there are still at least four years left before it really starts to play out. What about our 11 kids?"

Leaning over Maya reached for Farkle, patting him awkwardly on his shoulder before leaning back into her seat. A joking frown grew on her face.

"I'm afraid you'll need a new plan."

"Is that an offer?"

Maya's eyes widened and her head shook quickly. There was a disturbing smile on Farkle's face as he started to lean toward her. Continuing her exaggerated displace of no, Maya scooted further away from Farkle until she was pushed up against Lucas, her hand find its place on his leg.

"Nope definitely not, never an offer. Riley's got the kid thing covered."

Pouting Farkle returned to his sit. Next to him Riley remained silent for a few moments longer as she watched her friends. This is what it was all about. These people were the most important people in her entire world and she was going to do everything in her power to keep it that way. The week of not speaking was more than enough to last a life time. Never again. They were stuck together forever, especially if Riley had any say in it.

"Don't worry guys. I've decided to keep you all."

"Even Farkle?"

Maya eyed her friend with a questioning look as she spoke. Despite readjusting herself slightly after quickly moving out of Frakle's grasp, Maya's hand was still on Lucas' leg. It wasn't a conscious thought, in fact the only person that even noticed it was Lucas. Every ounce of his will power was dedicated to making sure he didn't acknowledge the hand on his leg. _Don't look, don't react, keep it together. She doesn't even know what she's doing. It's nothing._

"Aw come on Maya, could you really see your life without Farkle in it?"

At least while his mind was racing, Lucas was able to keep his exterior appearing composed. Tilting his head down, he smiled at the top of Maya's head.

"No…." Glancing over her shoulder she smiled in return, their faces just inches apart. "But a girl can dream can't she?"

They hadn't been this close since the kiss. It was an active choice on both their parts, though never discussed. Maya liked to believe it was because she never wanted to give Riley the impression she was actually interested in Lucas. Being too close would probably just upset Riley and it was Maya's goal in life to never upset her best friend. Riley was too good for this world and Maya was going to keep it that way. Sadly if she was honest with herself, she kept her distance all these months for a completely different reason, because the idea of repeating that kiss was one of the few things constantly on her mind. Maya kept that idea locked away in the tiniest part of my mind, a part she tried desperately not to think about.

With her head still tilted toward Lucas she licked her lips and he was mesmerized by the action. They were right there; it would be so simple, so easy to just lean down those last few inches. He had done it once before. It was instinct last time, and it was instinct this time that made him want to do it again. It would appear his will power was getting a massive work out. In Texas he was never able to keep it together this long. Knee jerk reactions were what caused him to be kicked out of his old school. The fall out of this knee jerk reaction though, that would destroy something far more important than just some old school. No, kissing Maya would destroy their group. Lucas doubted they could survive another kiss. Despite licking his own lips he pulled his attention away from Maya. Barely a second had passed.

"Personally I'm glad we're all stuck with one another. And I'm glad y'all fell into my lap on the subway."

"See guys, Lucas gets it. I've decide on us all, and no one is going to break this group up."

"The princess has spoken and I will protect your wishes with my life."

Pulling forward, Maya's hand finally raised from Lucas' leg to make a grand flourish motion as she bowed from her seat. Once the bow was complete she reached for her neglected smoothie and took a sip. Protect the princess, it was her job title really. A job Maya took every seriously even when her mind went off the deep end toward things that could seriously hurt her friend. As long as she kept those deep end thoughts from bubbling up to the surface though, Maya was good. She'd find a way to keep it together.

"Well if that's the case, I have another wish."

"Whatever you want Pumpkin."

"Let's get out of this place and go someplace fun."

"Oh but this place has the couches and the smoothies, and the not having to move thing all rolled into one! Must we leave Riles?"

Despite it sounding like she was protesting, Maya I was already gathering herself up as she spoke. It wasn't as if Topanga's was all that busy, in fact the second the four of them left it would be completely empty. Regardless it was an early Friday evening and the weekend did need to be attended to. The rest of the group followed Maya's lead. Riley and Farkle made their way to the door while Maya grabbed the smoothie glasses. Turning around she barreled into Lucas, who was apparently about to help. The two glasses were held out to her side, avoiding the collision, though that just meant their bodies were pressed against each other.

Glancing up at Lucas, Maya just stared blankly for a moment. A very vivid memory was flashing though her mind and she couldn't for the life of her refocus her attention. Luckily Lucas seemed in far better control of himself. Grabbing the two glasses from Maya's hands he just smiled down at her before turning and walking toward the counter to drop them off.

"Hurry up Hop-Along, we don't have time for your cowboy manners. We have a weekend to partake in."

"Yes Ma'am."

Riley and Farkle had already made their way out of Topanga's. Still watching Lucas, Maya ran her fingers though her hair. She'd find a way to keep this together. Riley want them to be friends forever and that meant Maya had to get over whatever it was that made her mind fall apart whenever Lucas was in her proximity. She would make this work. Lucas returned and put his hands on her shoulders, grinning, he forced her to turn around and began pushing her toward the front door.

"There was a mention of a weekend. Let's go Shortstack."


	4. Winter Holiday

**I have a lot of personal stuff coming up soon, but I'm gonna try to keep posting on a regular-ish basis. Can't promise one everyday, but who knows, I'm having a lot of fun writing this right now so we'll see. Hope y'all continue to enjoy it :)**

Winter Break had been different this year around. Frakle and his family had gone off to some odd family vacation. Lucas had been visiting his father in Texas. Riley had taken a few short trips to visit her mom's parents. All while Maya was the only one stuck in town the entire time. It wasn't like she had any other family to visit. At least Christmas had been just a fun as the previous year. Shawn had even gotten Maya a gift, something she hadn't been expecting. Regardless, this was one of the first years Maya had spent most of the holiday on her own. Not something she generally enjoyed. Especially since her mom had to be working most of the time.

Luckily the holiday season was almost over, and Maya had been sitting in their usual spot at Topanga's waiting. Farkle was due back anytime today and Riley should be showing up eventually, she always did unless she wasn't home. With Maya's mom working today, it was just easier for Maya to arrive early and just wait. The hot chocolate in front of her remained untouched, Maya's legs tucked under her as she stared out the window. The snow in New York was beautiful really. Even though it made travel difficult, when in a safe little cafe it was easy to just enjoy the snow falling. It was calming even, helped her mind focus, or lose focus rather, kept her from thinking too much about anything at all.

"Hi Maya."

Finally someone had arrived. Maya had begun wondering if anyone ever actually would. Turning her head she smiled up at Lucas. It took her some time, to finally be able to keep her mind functioning around him, but she had gotten there. The thoughts were still there, she woke up some morning thinking about him, wondering if she even remembered the kiss correctly. Hoping desperately that because it was her first kiss, her only kiss, that's why she kept thinking about it. It made sense, it had to.

"So Sundance, how was cowboy town? Did you enjoy the hoedowns? Get a new hat? Please say it was a twelve gallon…please say you brought it with you."

Lucas ruffled his hair, attempting to remove the snow that had fallen. When Maya moved slightly to avoid the droplets, he changed his tactics. Leaning forward he ruffled the rest of the snow out of his hair onto Maya.

"I'm melting! I'm melting!"

Curling up into a tiny ball on the couch Maya's arms flared around her attempting to keep the water droplets from falling on her. They started laughing loudly before finally composing themselves into acting like normal human beings. Pulling off his coat, Lucas hung it on the coat rack and returned to take a seat next to Maya.

"The hoedowns were wonderful Ma'am. But I'm afraid I left the hat at my dad's, didn't think I'd have any use for it here."

"Come on Huckleberry. You need to give me something to work with. I don't think you take this game as seriously as you should be. "

An eyebrow rose as Lucas smiled. The first time they spoke, he knew they would get along. He didn't even have to say a word as she went through their entire relationship in a matter of seconds. Ever since that moment, he knew there was something about Maya that was special. She had a fire in her, and he was happy to help that. Leaning forward, he whispered into her ear.

"I went to a rodeo, got on a bull and everything. There is a video on my phone."

Maya's head snapped quickly to the side. This information was almost too good, this was better than good. This is better than learning about his cowboy singing great grandfather. A devilish smile grew on her face as she started at him. Their faces were inches apart but for one moment it didn't even faze her.

"If you lie to me about this, I may never forgive you. You know I won't let this go right?"

"I'm fully aware. Do your worst. See if it's enough to finally break me.

His eyes narrowed in on Maya's, challenging her. A smirk grew on his face as they continued to eye each other. Both waiting for the other to blink first, or look away first. With their eyes locked, neither noticed as the other licked their lips. Or that both of their breathing seemed to be dependent on one another. It was Lucas that cracked first; he didn't even realize it had happened until all he could see were her lips. As he continued to stare he found himself started to close the gap between them. It would just take one more inch and he'd be able to find out how those dreams of his finally end.

"Lucas."

The name snapped him back to reality. Pulling back quickly he looked around to find the person who said his name. His heart began beating faster expected to find Riley staring at them. It was his biggest fear, since the week she didn't speak to either of them. Riley seeing something like this, him making this mistake in front of her and destroying the group of friends he had. But she wasn't here, the more Lucas looked around the more he realized it wasn't Riley that said his name, it was Maya. His hand reached up to scratch the back of his head.

"You used my name."

"Yea, I did."

Maya had no idea what made her stop him. That was the moment, the moment she dreamt about, the moment that ran over and over again in her mind each night. The moment she works so hard to stop seeing run through her mind every time she saw him. But something in her made her say Lucas. Something either wanted her to feel the way his name felt on her lips or knew that was the right thing to say to make him stop leaning closer. She could have said nothing, she wanted to say nothing. But instead she stopped it. Maya's fingers ran though her hair as she turned away from Lucas, she looked out the window for a moment, looked around the café, and looked at just about every square inch possible that didn't hold Lucas. She didn't know what to say, his name was the furthest her brain had thought through. She didn't even know why she said it.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I shouldn't have done that. Almost did that. I'm sorry Maya."

There was no denying he was an idiot. What was wrong with him? He knew better, every ounce of his body knew better. He knew better than to sit next to her, knew better than to whisper in her ear, knew better than to get so close he could see the dark blue boarder of her irises and the way they faded to a pale blue. Lucas watched her for a moment as she looked at everything but him, when it seemed like she was finally capable of look his was, he turned his head down and stared at is hands balled up in his lap.

"You never should have done any of it."

Anger was boiling up in Maya and she had no idea who it was directed toward. Sadly for Lucas, there was really only one person she could yell at. Standing up she turned to him, her voice rising. They had never spoke about this, never said a single word about it and it would appear it was time to.

"You nearly destroyed my best friend. You and your stupid impulse could have ruined the only good thing I have in this world. I found you on that train for Riley! You were supposed to be her first kiss, not mine! You're Mr. Perfect, Moral Compass. You should've known better! How could you? You never should have kissed me and I sure as hell wasn't supposed to like it."

The final words slipped out of her mouth without her permission. In fact Maya didn't even realize she said it until Lucas's head popped up, finally looking at her. He sat there as she yelled, knowing full well he deserved it. Two things stuck out to him, Maya's first kiss and she liked it. He started blankly at her for a moment as the full explosion finally processed through her mind. Her mouth gapped as she tried to think of something to say, something to take back a few things. Standing up, Lucas walked toward her, the closer he got the more her head shook no. His hand reached for her arm, shoulder, anything really and finally Maya stopped shaking her head. She was suddenly still, her eyes like a deer in headlights. Just as Lucas was about to grabbed her arm, Maya turned on the spot and darted out the door.

"Maya wait! I…"

She was gone before he could say something, out the door up the stairs and into the snow. At least the snow had stopped falling. Lucas stood for a moment, replaying everything that had happened. Starting at the door, something in the corner of his eye pulled his attention, Maya's leather jacket. _Crap, she's gonna freeze._ Throwing on his own jacket, he grabbed hers and ran out the door. Her small footsteps were clear in the snow and Lucas followed them until he found her leaning against a building, just a few blocks away. Her arms were crossed trying to stop herself from shivering. Despite her desire to run away again, Maya didn't flee when Lucas pulled her forward slightly and wrapped her jacket around her shoulders.

"You're gonna freeze out here Maya. We need to get back."

Maya pulled her arm through the sleeves of her jacket.

"Think that's possible? Go back before all of it?"

Shaking his head Lucas took a small step closer to Maya. She leaned into the brick wall of the building, attempting to shrink away from Lucas as much as possible.

"I didn't know it was your first kiss."

Maya's hand rose to stop Lucas from saying more.

"Eh, whatever. I was pretty good at keeping that a secret."

It took everything in her power to keep her eyes on Lucas, but she couldn't do it anymore. She turned attention to the snow on the ground. They should have talked about this all sooner, or never at all. He knew it all now, or at least the important parts. The fact it was her first kiss, the fact she liked it. Though she kept how much she had been thinking about it to herself. Lucas took another small step closer to Maya. His hand reached out and gentle guided her chin so she was looking at him again.

"I liked it too."

The confession from Lucas sparked Maya's interested. Pushing away from the wall, she stood up straight, closing the distance between them in the process. Lucas's hand dropped from her chin and found its way to the side of her waist. She was too shocked to notice the way his hand made her side tingle.

"You…"

Lucas nodded slowly, his hand slowly slide from her side to wrap around her waist, pulling Maya closer to him. Licking her lips, her head tilted up as he leaned down toward her.

"I'm tired of never doing anything."

Their lips touched softly at first. As Maya's eyes fluttered closed she fell into Lucas. His other hand found his way around her waist. Pulling her closer, Lucas lifted Maya up slightly. Taking a step forward, he pushed her against the building just as her arms wrapped around his neck. Lucas shifted slightly, one arm remained around Maya as his other hand pushed against the brick for support. Their lips parted and he grasped her upper lip between his. A soft whimper escaped her throat as sucked lightly on her lip. Lucas finally pulled away. Gently he lowered Maya back down onto the ground before taking a step back. Their eyes locked as she tried to even out her breathing. Lucas caught himself smiling brightly.

"Can I take you to a movie, put our hands in the popcorn at the same time and see what happens?"

Maya nodded her answer yes. Part of her knew this was probably a mistake. There was too much of a chance this would all blow up in her face. There was too much to talk about, to figure out. But most of her didn't care. At least not right now. Right now she wanted to go anywhere where with Lucas; right now she couldn't keep her eyes off of him. Lucas reached out his hand and Maya entwined her fingers with his. Stepping away from the wall, he led her down the street.


	5. Birthday Surprise

**The next few chapters are a bit more one after another than I had originally been planning for this story. Not sure if it'll remain that way or not, but we'll see.**

As per usual, winter break ended in time for Maya's birthday. School was starting again and things were not going to be as fun as they had been when everyone had so much free time. It seemed though, that finally giving in made it better for Maya and Lucas. Without the stress of hiding what was running through both of their minds, within the group, things really were back to normal, not just apparent normal from earlier. The banter, the fun, the ease of being around each other was back. They kept the occasional distance, so no one was suspicious, but Lucas always picked the seat next to Maya. The space between them often decreased. Their hands found their way to an arm, a shoulder, a leg more often than not when talking or crossing paths. None of the touches lingered, they were just moments, but they just seemed right.

Neither Maya nor Lucas knew what to say to anyone, what were they supposed to say? They didn't even really know what they were to each other yet. They talked about it, of saying something to Riley of telling her they were...something. But how could they risk that if they didn't even know what they were. The idea of finally say something meant possibly destroying one of the most important people in their lives. Every time they thought about it, planned on saying something it fell through. Each time they would walk to Topanga's hand in hand with every intent to finally say something, then the moment they reached the door, the moment they saw Riley smiling happily, they both let go of their hands. It was never the right time to make that girl stop smiling. So for now, they said nothing.

Maya found herself sitting in Matthew's class early. She sat impatiently at her desk, turned to the side with her finger nails tapping Lucas' desk. Part of her had hoped Lucas would show up early, not that they had discussed it. It was just, today was her birthday and she wanted to see him alone for a bit. Especially since she knew Riley had been planning something. It was the only reason Riley hadn't shown up at Maya's house at an ungodly early hour to scream a Happy Birthday.

"How's the Birthday Girl doing?"

With a bright grin, Maya turned to the back door of the classroom to see Lucas walk in.

"Surprising awake. Could use a bit more attention from the rest of the universe but I'll manage. Always do."

Sliding into his desk, Lucas dropped his messenger bag on the desk and started fishing though it. After a few moments he pulled out a small little brown box wrapped with a black ribbon. He pushed it across the desk until it bumped up against Maya's hand. With a suspicious glance she looked between the box and Lucas before finally picking it up.

"You got me something?"

With a grin he nodded. Slowly Maya pulled off the ribbon and opened the box. Inside was a small bracelet made of black leather stripes woven together, a silver clasp at the end. It was perfect, simple and, well, perfect. Glancing up she smiled at Lucas.

"Thank you, this is…it's perfect."

Lucas grabbed the bracelet out of the box and tugged lightly on Maya's right wrist. Once she held out her arm, he unclasped the bracelet and reclasped it around her wrist. He twisted the bracelet so the clasp was hidden, but held onto her hand.

"I'm glad you liked it. I was a little nervous to give it to you. I might have made it."

Maya's eyebrow rose.

"Okay I definitely made it. Was a little worried you might hate it."

The smile on Maya's face grew. She pulled her hand away from Lucas' and examined the bracelet. Nothing about it suggested it was handmade. It seemed too good for that. It made it even more perfect than she thought. Her hand dropped back down to the desk, atop Lucas', and she leaned forward over his desk.

"Definitely not hate, the opposite actually."

Lucas closed the distance between them, just as their lips were about to touch the front door the classroom creaked. Jumping apart quickly, Maya turned her head to see as Mr. Matthew entered the room, dropping his bag on the desk he eyed the two students already seated.

"Care to explain why you two are here so early?"

"I've decide to turn over a new leaf. Be a punctual and dedicated student as of this very moment in time. Start fresh at 15."

"I'm just holding her to her word Sir."

Cory eyed the two students. Despite the number of times he'd brought their lives into the classroom, even Cory knew when they needed to sort things out on their own. It was the reason he didn't bring up the fight they had all had earlier in the year. It was also the reason he didn't push anything up right now. There was always more to the story, but it was their world now and he didn't need to know all of it. Shaking his head the turned to the blackboard and began prepping for the rest of the students.

"I'll believe it when I see it Maya, and I like the bracelet."

"Thanks Matthews might be my favorite birthday present ever."

The rest of the class began to shuffle in and Maya tugged the sleeve of her shirt down, covering the bracelet. The last into the classroom was Riley, a giant box held in her arms and she stumbled through the door. With a bit of guidance from Farkle and Cory, Riley placed the large box on Maya's desk.

"For little old me?"

"Very old you yes."

"What is it?"

"Pancakes."

"You got me pancakes?"

"Yup."

"A whole box of them?"

"Exactly."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Fair enough."

Grinning Maya stood up and opened the top of the box, sure enough inside was a giant stack of pancakes. With a bit of effort Maya and Riley removed the giant plate of pancakes, the box discarded on the ground near Mr. Matthew's desk.

"It's a stack of pancakes for a shortstack of pancakes."

Maya's head turned with a joking glare.

"I suggest you hold your tongue Ranger Rick. You do not want to mess with me, it's my birthday. Also you keep that up I might not give you any pancakes."

With a tilt of his imaginary hat, Lucas grinned.

"My apologize Ma'am."

"Can I have..."

"No."

Despite her quick response to Farkle, Maya gave everyone in the class a pancake before starting to chow down on the remainder of her pancakes. Today was gonna be a good day.

* * *

Riley and Frakle spent a few hours right after school decorating Topanga's for the surprised party. Of course Maya was more than a little aware there was going to be a party. Riley wasn't exactly known for being able to keep it a secret. She might have let it out about 10 minutes after deciding a surprise party was exactly what her best friend needed. Still, everyone played along. Lucas worked as the distraction, while everyone else pulled together everything for the party. The bonus was that it let Lucas and Maya spend a bit of time alone on her birthday, which was one of things she had honestly wanted for her birthday.

When the time was right, Lucas walked Maya back to the café, by the time they reached the front door his hands covered her eyes, keeping the illusion of a surprise alive. Guiding her he led her through the front door and stopped walking once they reached the middle of the room. Everyone was silent until Lucas finally lifted his hands and the room burst into loud screamed.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAYA!"

The words echoed through the building. Running toward her best friend, Riley collided into Maya. It seemed as though there arms everywhere as they hugged tightly. This Birthday was already so much better than her 14th.

"A surprise party for me?! I had no idea!"

Laughing Maya rested her head against her best friend's shoulder. Everyone came over one by one, wishing her a happy birthday. Some with hugs, some with pats on the arm, some with presents that were quickly placed on the back counter where Maya's mom and Shawn stood.

"Thanks for pretending."

"Of course Pumpkin, I know how important this was to you."

As the party carried on, Maya, Lucas, Riley, and Farkle all sat at their usual spot in the front corner of the café. Even with all the other friends and family around her, these were the people Maya wanted to spend her time with. While they chatted, her fingers unconsciously fidgeted with her new bracelet, she hadn't been able to stop since Lucas put it on for her.

"Can I see that?"

Maya's fingers stopped when Riley spoke. Glancing down at her bracelet Maya nodded slowly holding out her arm toward her best friend.

"It's so beautiful. Where did you get it?"

Biting her lip, Maya's eyes darted toward Lucas for a moment before falling back onto the bracelet. They never talked about what to say about it. Were people supposed to know? Would it be obvious this was more than just a present from a friend?

"Birthday present."

"But who got it for you?"

"Oh um…well…"

"I did."

Maya and Lucas' heads turned quickly to the voice. Shawn Hunter stood over the group, smiling down at Maya. In this world, Shawn wasn't as noticed, but he was around, a lot more since he started dating Katy. And around enough to notice Maya and Lucas. He saw the telltale signs of a new romance, of two people trying desperately to pretend it wasn't happening, of two people finally giving in. He grew up with Cory and Topanga after all, he knew what to look for. Not to mention he had seen how Maya had been over the past few months and how happy she had been since the end of the winter break. And he knew Maya well enough now to know she wasn't ready for the blow out of this relationship. Reaching down Shawn grabbed Maya's hand and held the bracelet up toward his face.

"Seemed just like her so I figured it would be a good gift. What do you think Lucas?"

A smirk grew on Shawn's lip as he shoved Maya's wrist into Lucas' face. Sure Shawn knew Maya wasn't ready, but that didn't mean he couldn't still let the young man squirm. Lucas stared at the bracelet for a moment, then turned up to catch Shawn's eye. There was devilish glint in Shawn's eye as Lucas opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking.

"It does seem to be a perfect fit, Sir."

"Thought so. Come on kid, your mom's got something for you."

With a gentle tug, Shawn lifted Maya up by her arm. Walking away from the group he put his arm around her. Turning up her head she gave her her signature toothless smile. He just saved her from having to make a decision. A decision she wasn't sure what she wanted to make. A decision that wasn't entirely her own to make.

"Thanks, for covering for us. I didn't know what to say. If I should."

Shawn shrugged and gave her shoulder a tight squeeze.

"You don't have to say anything you're not ready to say kid, but eventually you're gonna have to tell Riley. It's better she hears it from you than to find out a different way."

"I know. I'm just not sure I'm ready for that just yet."

Glancing over her shoulder she watched her friends for a moment. They continued chatting without her and they all looked so happy. Telling Riley that something was going on between her and Lucas could break all of that. Maybe it would be easier to just stop whatever was happening between her and Lucas. It had only been two weeks or so. It wasn't as if it was anything serious yet. Maybe saving the group was the better option. As she contemplated the idea, Lucas looked up and caught her eye. A small soft smile appeared on his face as he watched for a moment. Smiling in return, Maya turned back finally reaching her mom. No, ending things with Lucas wasn't going to be an option.


	6. Discovery

**Here we go, the chapter 6 I wanted. Sorry for the various deleted chapters from yesterday. Thanks for baring with me y'all.**

 **Now, enjoy :)**

A month, a month and nothing had happened. Lucas and Maya hadn't told anyone; in fact they barely even saw each other outside the group. It wasn't that they suddenly didn't want to, quite the opposite. It was that they were horrible at it. Any time they tried to sneak off, to try and meet up somewhere, they were incapable of shaking their best friends. Farkle wanted to try all of these new random activities Lucas was suddenly interested in.

"I've always wanted to try my hand at ceramics!" "Dirt biking?! That sounds awesome!" "Is it anything like riding a mechanical bull? I mean I haven't done that either but…for reference."

As for Maya, it was a little different. If she started the day without Riley, it wasn't as odd if she just stayed away. The problem was when Riley and Maya met up, throughout their friendship there hadn't really been anything to separate them. Once they started hanging out, they nearly always stayed that way until the day was done. And they started each day together at school.

So for nearly an entire month, it was just the group. There wasn't anything inheritably wrong with that. It was just, during winter break there were moments that it seemed like Maya and Lucas could have been something. And now, well now she just had the bracelet that she never took off and the banter they had already become accustomed to.

Tonight was another group outing, to a Valentine's Day dance. After getting ready, Maya sprawled out on the Matthew's couch. The boys were arriving shortly so they could all go to the dance together. Unlike the last time, this was definitely not a date. Just a group of friends. As the time ticked by Maya was getting impatient, the point of throwing a pillow at Riley as she attempted to dance around the room.

"Would you stop. Pumpkin, you have an excess amount of limbs, and right now you just don't have complete control over them. I think it's best to let them do what they want."

The pillow flew right back into Maya's face.

"I will control these things if it's the last thing I do."

"It just might be."

"Heeeeeey."

Laughing, Maya righted herself on the couch. As if on que the doorbell rang. With a grin, she turned her head over her shoulder shouting.

"Matthews you gotta open the door."

"No I don't."

"We must be standing looking pretty and you must open the door."

"I don't wanna."

"Well Matthews, I don't care."

There was mumbling from the Matthew's bedroom, but the door creaked open and footsteps could be heard in the hall. With a glare, Cory reached the door and pulled it open. Quickly eyeing Lucas and Farkle, Cory silently walked back to his room. This was one school function he didn't have to monitor, and he had ever intent of staying perfectly lazy. Opening the door was already more effort than he wanted. He did have enough energy to stick his head around the door for a quite retort.

"Aren't you supposed to be standing?"

While the boys walked into the living room, Maya finally removed herself from the couch. Glancing down she ran her fingers across the scarlet colored floral mesh of her mini dress, removing the wrinkles that weren't really there. Once it appeared okay, she turned her attention upward to look at the boys. The second she caught Lucas' eye her body stopped all motion, her hand awkwardly paused at end of her quarter length sleeve.

What stopped her wasn't how he looked; he always looked good in button downs. It was the way he was looking at her. The way his mouth gapped open just slightly. The way his eyes kept roaming over her as if he was drinking her up. The way he looked dumbstruck and excited all at once. The way his mouth finally closed with a lick of the lips and a smile.

"Wow."

"That's like a 100% effort! I didn't ever see 100%."

Pulling herself together, Maya grabbed her best friend's arm and started toward the door. Without bothering to alter their course, they went straight for the boys forcing them to move out of the way. Flipping their hair, they looked beyond them. Maya might have regained her composed, but she still let her best friend do the speaking.

"What are you guys waiting for? We have a dance to attend."

"Just avoid her limbs when we get there."

Riley swatted at her best friend who ducked out of the way laughing and hurried down the hall, the heels of the black boots echoing as she ran.

* * *

The gym was decorated in various shades of red and pink with random white accents. Riley had spent hours making the room look perfect for the dance and forced Maya to do the same. Everyone seemed to be having fun, Riley had made the place perfect and it was clear. That didn't stop Maya from leading against the wall in a corner though; she was good just watching the events unfold. While watching her best friend flair about on the dance floor, some bumped into her shoulder pushing her closer into the wall.

"HEY! Way to watch where your going!"

"Watch yourself."

Maya pushed herself away from the wall and walked up to Joey Ricciardella, the resident bully of John Quincy Adams. Sure he was bad, but that had never stopped her before.

"You're the one that bumped me Della."

"So?"

Despite her stance, Maya found herself backing up slowly as Joey advanced on her. In the barely lit corner of the gym, it was hard not to be intimidated. He was over a foot taller than her and despite the reputation she had as the bad girl, his reputation was worse. Bumping up against the wall, Maya knew quickly that she had no place else to go.

"Gonna do something about it Hart? You know it's been awhile since I had a nice neck in my hand."

There wasn't any space between Joey and Maya and all she could do was stare up at him. Her body jerked when his slapped his hands against the wall on either side of her head. _Crap_. What had she just gotten herself into? Leaning forward so their heads were just inches apart he whispered.

"Not so tough when backed into a corner are yous?"

As her eyes were about to close, Joey was suddenly ripped from her sight. Her eyes darted around trying to find what became of the bully in front of her. That was until she heard a loud thump next to her.

"Ow."

Next to Maya now resided Joey pushed up against the wall, but none other than Lucas. His arm was pushed up against Joey's throat, pinning him to the wall. There was a darkness in Lucas' eye as he pushed harder. There were very few moments that Maya had ever seen that look before. The last time she had to jump on his back to keep him from beating someone up. That didn't seem like it would be helpful at the moment.

"What the hell is you problem Joey? Your reputation means that much you have to threaten someone smaller than you? Think that makes you tough? How about you threaten me."

Joey made an odd grumbling noise as he tried to speak. It wasn't exactly possible though with Lucas pushing so hard on the bully's vocal cord. Lucas took a step closer to Joey, straightening himself up so he could tower over the other. The noise from Joey was enough to pull Maya into action. Grapping the arm pushing against Joey's, she tugged as hard as she could. Unlike normally, when she tugged on him, Lucas' arm didn't even budge. He really was as strong as a horse, and for a moment Maya wondered why in the past it had always been so easy to move Lucas around.

"Lucas, stop. He can't even breathe."

"Well maybe he shouldn't."

"Don't do this. Don't forget who you are now. This isn't Texas."

There was no acknowledgment that he heard her. In fact in response he just pressed harder. Another odd noise escaped Joey's throat.

"Please, don't do this."

Desperation filled her voice, it was shaky. It wasn't the way she normally spoke. The difference was enough to pull Lucas' attention away finally. When he saw the fear in her eyes, his arm dropped and quickly Joey snuck away unnoticed. Reaching out, Lucas' hand gentle rested on Maya's check.

"Are you okay? I was over here as soon as I noticed. I'm so sorry."

As much as she hated it, Maya couldn't help but be impressed with him. His quickness to protect her, his ability to do so. It frightened her a bit too, really seeing how deadly he could be. The other moments had never been this bad. Apparently he had been much better at keeping it all in check, until now. Her hand rested atop Lucas' on her check. Being trapped by Joey had been frightening, but she was starting to feel better.

"Huckleberry I'm fine. I would have been fine."

"He had you pinned against a wall. You could have been hurt."

"I wasn't."

As they spoke, Maya was once against backed into the wall, but this time nothing about it was frightening. In fact, but the time her back touched the wall, she couldn't take her eyes off of Lucas' lips. She couldn't ignore the tingling in her check as his thumb caressed it lightly. Or the feeling on her waist where his other hand had found its resting place. Her eyes closed as Lucas leaned down, closing the gap between them. It was a soft kiss barely a peck, but it was the first kiss they had had in over a month. Pulling apart, Maya smiled up at Lucas.

For a moment they were in their own little world. That was until she saw in the corner of her eye Riley, staring at them blankly. With Maya's attention pulled away so apparently, Lucas turned over his shoulder to see what it was. Riley's eyes darted between the two. Nothing was making sense; nothing about the sight in front of her seemed real. Everything thing was suddenly and Earth shattering different and it would never be the same. Turning quickly, Riley ran out of the gym. Lucas and Maya locked eyes for a moment, that wasn't how it was supposed to happen. That wasn't the way Riley was supposed to find out. Pushing off from the wall, Maya moved past Lucas, not bothering to stop as he reached for her arm to stop her. Instead she just ran after her best friend.


	7. The Fallout

**There is going to be some time between updates for the next week. A few too many time consuming events coming up, but don't worry, there will be updates. Promise :)**

Riley was long gone by the time Maya reached the halls of John Quincy Adams, but that didn't stop the girl from running around the school hoping to find her best friend. It wasn't until she ran through Mr. Matthew's classroom for the second time that she finally stopped. She stood in the classroom, staring at the blackboard, this was horrible.

"Maya?"

The voice came from the front door to the classroom, where Lucas stood tentatively at the threshold. When the girls ran out, he didn't know what to do. Should he follow? Should he let them sort it out themselves, if it could even be sorted out? Would it be better if he just vanished into thin air? Despite his uncertainty, he finally made his way into the halls to find either of them. It was just luck he found Maya at his first stop.

"She saw us."

Lucas nodded slowly.

"She saw us and she ran away. And now I can't find her."

Part of him wanted to go to her, give her a hug. Try and protect her or something. But it didn't seem right. Instead he just stood at the threshold, watching, waiting, completely helpless.

"You need to talk to her. You two are best friends, and that…"

Biting his lower lip, Lucas attempted to pull himself together to make it through what he needed to say. The second it happened, the second he saw Riley run off, he knew what would end up happening. There wasn't any other option really. Riley and Maya would do whatever was necessary to make their friendship work, and Maya would drop anything and everything to make sure it worked. Including him. They would talk, they would work it out, and if the only way that would happen is if Maya never spoke to him again, she'd do it.

"That trumps everything else. You know exactly where she'd go."

"Home."

Watching Maya closely he nodded again. She hadn't actually seen him at all as she stood there, staring at the blackboard. He wasn't even sure if she noticed as he nodded. At the mention of home though, Maya finally turned her attention away from the blackboard. She rushed past Lucas who quickly moved out of the way to avoid being run into. Without bothering to look she shouted over her shoulder.

"I gotta go."

"Goodbye Maya."

It didn't take long for Maya to be completely out of Lucas' sight. Once she was gone, he fell back against the door. There was a loud bang as his head slammed against the wood. At least that pain was something he could deal with.

* * *

The front door was already open when Maya reached the Matthew's apartment. Despite the open door though, she stopped short of entering. She had run all the way here from the school, and in all that time she had no idea what to say. Inside the apartment on the couch sat Mr. and Mrs. Matthews. It was as if they had been waiting, because they had been. Stepping into the apartment she stared at the people she considered family.

"I'm looking for Riley. Is she here? I really need to talk to her. She saw…She knows…I did something…It's…I don't know…"

For the first time in a long time, Maya felt uncomfortable in their presence. After what Riley saw, how could they still be her family. Riley was their real daughter, who knows if she would even want Maya around anymore, and if she didn't, why would they want anything to do with Maya? She wouldn't even have a place here anymore.

"She's in her room."

"I didn't mean…She wasn't supposed to…I'm not even sure I should be here."

Maya kept muttering incoherently. Topanga rose from the couch and walked over to the nervous young girl in front of her. Grabbing the girl by her shoulders Topanga smiled softly down at her.

"You will always be welcome here."

Despite wanting to believer her, Maya couldn't help but feel like that was a lie. Still, it was more than she had expected from the parents of the girl she might have just destroyed. Stepping away, Topanga motioned to the hallway and Riley's room. With a short nod, Maya slowly walked to hopefully her still best friend's room. The short walk that normally took her mere moments seemed to take ages. Maya just wasn't sure if it was because of what might be to come or because the idea of getting there, of facing it all, was too terrifying. She made it to her friend's bedroom door, which was already open. Inside on the bay window sat Riley; she was staring at her bedroom door. She had been waiting. Since arriving home, Riley hadn't said a word, she just sat and waited. Eventually Maya would arrive, Riley knew that. She knew that there was one very important conversation that had to happen. Once Maya was in Riley's eye line she spoke. She didn't sound angry, or hurt, instead she just spoke matter-of-factly.

"You and Lucas."

Darting forward Maya shook her head, taking a seat. Riley was sitting too still; it wasn't right, or normal. It made everything seem…off. It made Maya more nervous and terrified than if she had been yelling.

"No, you and me. Always. Forever."

"Lucas kissed you."

"It's never happening again."

"But it's happened before."

"But never again."

"How long?"

"What do you mean?"

"You and Lucas, how long?"

"No, no me and Lucas."

Riley's head tilted to the side as she stared at her friend. The first kiss she believed meant nothing. It devastated her, known though, knowing her best friend had kissed the first boy she had ever kissed. Her first date, the first boy she ever had a crush on. It took more than just a week to get over it, but after a week she had realized she needed her best friend more than she needed Lucas. Maya was more important. It only took a week for Riley to realize she couldn't be without Maya. This time she actually saw the kiss, it wasn't a spur of the moment kiss. It wasn't some accident or some stupid ill-conceived plan to make someone jealous. That was a kiss that was just for them. That was them forgetting anyone was even around.

"Maya I saw you."

What could she say? Maya stared down at her wrist and the woven black leather bracelet that was wrapped around it. Honestly there wasn't a her and Lucas. Especially this past month, that kiss, that was the first her and Lucas thing that had happened since her birthday. The longer Maya stared at the bracelet the more she realized she might as well just start from the beginning.

"There's been…something since the end of winter break. We kissed against before you and Farkle got back in town. That was the first kiss since my birthday. And it's gonna be the last. I don't know what's going on with us, but I do know it doesn't matter. I'll never even look at him again if you don't want me to. There is no me and Lucas Riles. I promise."

"That's why you've been so happy this past month? It was cause of Lucas?"

Looking down at her lap, Maya shrugged. She hadn't thought that much about it, that she was acting happier than usual. But at the same time, she knew it. While she might never be all Rainbows and Lollipops like Riley, Maya had been brighter. She didn't want to think too much about the fact it was Lucas that was making her that way. Especially since she had already made the decision to stop whatever might have been starting.

"I don't know. But it's over. It was a mistake. A mistake I shouldn't have made."

"But do you want it to be?"

Maya finally found the courage again to look at her best friend. She was expecting anger and pain Riley's eyes, but it wasn't there. Instead she was faced with the somber Riley. The insightful, dedicated, sincere Riley that proved to the world she was nowhere near as naive as people thought she was.

"What? That doesn't matter."

"Maya I want you to be honest with me; do you want it to be over? Whatever it is with Lucas, do you want it to be over."

There was too long of a pause before Maya answered. She wanted to be honest but she didn't like the honest answer. Not to mention the honest answer was in her mind, irrelevant. It didn't matter if she didn't what that ever was happening between her and Lucas to be over, because she would always pick Riley over it. Whatever it was.

"Yes….no. I don't. I really don't. But I don't want our friendship to be over more."

Reaching forward Riley grabbed Maya's right index finger. Where one of three pieces of jewelry she never took off was located.

"That isn't even being taken off of your dead corpse body, don't forget that."

"How could you possibly say that? After what I did to you?"

Scooting over on the couch, Riley wrapped her arms around her best friend and hugged her tightly. When Riley first saw them kiss, it was a shock. It was earth shattering shock and she had no idea how to process it but to run. Once she sat at her bay window though it was pretty clear what was going to happen. She had gotten over Lucas after the first kiss, because that's when Riley cared more about Maya than any relationship with him. Since she already made that decision, she wasn't about to make Maya do the same thing. Maya deserved to be happy and Riley would do anything to make that so.

"Because, you are my best friend, and if you don't want it to be over, I don't want it to be over. "


	8. Deciding

**My sister's bridal shower is over and I officially have free time again, so now I can write again wooooo!**

The light in her room was still out. She should have been home by now, maybe. Who knows. Maybe they worked everything out and they were having a sleep over. Maybe she was out wandering New York because she had just lost her best friend. Maybe she was dead in a ditch and it was all his fault because he was starting to fall for her and he kissed her and her best friend saw them. The best friend he had kissed before too. Maybe he was just an idiot that should move back to Texas to live with his father. Maybe he should just stay far far away from them for the rest of their lives. And maybe that fourth coffee was a really bad idea.

The corner coffee shop across the street from Maya's room window was mostly empty, 10pm was not prime coffee drinking hours. It was the perfect spot though for Lucas, to just wait. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for exactly. Besides waiting to see if Maya's bedroom window finally light up saying she was home. Maybe she already was, but she was too depressed to turn on the light and simply crashed. And maybe she just wasn't coming home tonight at all. Lucas had no idea if any of the thousands of thoughts running through his mind made any sense. And yet he waited.

Once Maya left, ran from the school to find Riley, Lucas was at a loss. Part of him desperately wanted to find Joey and get into a fight, that had always helped in the past…sadly. Part of him wanted to race after Maya to stop her from most likely ending whatever was starting between them before it started to protect Riley. And part of him wanted to find Farkle, Lucas had a feeling that guy might have an idea what he was going through. Instead he just went to the corner coffee shop, ordered a drink, and just waited. He was practically stalking Maya, just waiting here, sitting in a booth window seat, watching to see if, when she came home. And he had been sitting here, waiting, for hours.

10:30pm rolled around and the light in Maya's window finally flicked on. Despite the countless ideas that were running through Lucas' mind, he had finally decided on what he was going to do. He just needed to talk to Maya, find out what happened. For all he knew this would be the last time they ever spoke. It did seem like the most obvious result. But regardless, he couldn't wait until tomorrow or until school on Monday to find out what happened. It was better to know now.

After paying for his coffee, Lucas made his way across the street. A sheet was draped across Maya's window, just like the last time he had been here. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the window. There was a shuffle in the room before the sheet was dropped to the side. Maya's eyes widened when she saw Lucas and stared blankly at him until he tapped the window lightly with his finger. Realizing he wanted the window open, she obliged.

"What are you doing here Huckleberry? It's 10:30, aren't you gonna be in trouble?"

He just shrugged.

"I've been in worse trouble than getting home late; it's not a big deal. I wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine."

"And Riley."

"Shocked but also fine."

"Then what does that mean?"

It was Maya's turned to shrug. She really did believe she and Riley were going to okay. But she had a feeling that wasn't really what his question was about. Stepping away from the window she took a seat on the edge of her bed. Taking that as his que, Lucas climbed into Maya's bedroom and took a seat next to her.

"Riley and I are good."

"And us?"

"We're good too Ranger Rick."

"But are we….

Lucas stopped short with his question, part of him that didn't want to just flat out ask Maya the questions that were running through his head, because he didn't know what the answer was going to be. If she was going to tell him they were done before anything really happened, well, he didn't want it to end just yet. That little spec of hope was nice.

"So you don't hate me for what happened?"

For the first time since they sat down, Maya turned to look at Lucas, with a raise eyebrow. It was a stupid question as far as she was concerned. How could she possibly hate him? He was Mr. Perfect, Moral Compass, he was a good guy. A good guy that protected her when someone was threatening her. A good guy whose touch made her whole body vibrate. You can't hate a guy like that.

"Stupid question Huckleberry. I'm not saying I'm all that happy with how it played out and who saw, but no, I don't hate you. Riley knows now, so it's out there and that's that."

Both of them felt as though they were talking around in circles, but neither of them wanted to bring it up. Maya put it together with ease when she saw Lucas at her window why he was here. He wanted to know what happened, what was going to happen, between them. If there was a them now. After all, Maya was full committed to never speaking to him again if that had been what her best friend wanted. If their conversation had gone differently she's not sure she would have been able to open the window for him. Now that Riley knew, now that it was really out in the open, they had to talk. They had to decide what was going happen.

"What does she know?"

"Everything. The subway, winter break, my birthday."

"Then what does that mean?"

"You already asked that question Huckleberry."

"And you didn't answer."

"Yes I did!"

It was Lucas' turn to raise an eyebrow.

"You asked the question, I response with words, that's an answer."

"No, those words were not the answer to the question I asked."

"Well maybe you shouldn't ask such weirdly vague questions. I thought I answered the question."

"You know perfectly well you did not answer the question shortstack."

"Oh and how do you know that? Suddenly a mind reader now?"

While they argued, Lucas and Maya began inching closer and closer to each other. It wasn't even a conscious thought. Their voices were growing louder and they were practically in each other's face. Even their tones were beginning to sound angrier and angrier with each response. Despite the tone, and the red faces, both of them were smiling.

"Like I need to be a mind reader, you answered a completely different question because you didn't want to answer the actual question."

"Next time be clearer on your question so I don't _accidentally_ answer the wrong one."

"Fine. Is this thing happening between us going to be something or not?"

Maya fell back away from Lucas. She really hadn't expected him to flat out ask that question, especially since it was the one question that was running through her mind since she talked to Riley. Honestly she knew the question needed to be answered; now that Riley knew they had no other excuse.

"Do you want it to be something?"

"Of course not, that's why I waited for three hours so I could see you one last time in case you were never gonna talk to me again."

"Well you don't have to be so sarcastic about it."

Lucas found himself grinning, for them, his answer was pretty clear. And she didn't say anything against it. Sure neither had actually said what was going to happen with them, but it wasn't over. Pulling on leg on the bed he turned so could face Maya directly.

"I thought that's how we talked to each other."

"Yea, but a straight answer would be nice every once in a while."

"Wait a second, Maya wants a sincere answer?"

"You tell anyone I'll mess you up."

"Fair enough. Maya, I want this to be something. I don't want to hide or have to let go of your hand because we see someone. And I sure as hell don't want you to have to run away anytime I kiss you."

A smile grew on Maya's face as he talked. Riley said it was okay, if this is what Maya wanted, to be with Lucas, it was okay. She just had no idea it was going to actually happen, she didn't even know what Lucas wanted. The worry of losing Riley made Maya shut down even the thought of Lucas, now it was back and here he was saying exactly what she wanted to hear. Hope would always be such an odd concept for her. Maya might never get use to actually getting something she wanted, which just made the moments when it did happen feel that much better.

"I make no promises on the running."

A muted snort escaped as Lucas rolled his eyes. Well they had past the sincere portion of the evening. For the most part. Still, they wanted the same thing. This was happening. Not hiding, not showing up early at group functions hoping to see each other alone for a moment, not having that small voice in the back of their heads telling them this wasn't right. In response Maya just smiled innocently. That look was unbelievable on her but Lucas found it perfect. She was a good person, an amazing one, and it was when she smiled that way, you could see it, just how sweet and sincere and caring she truly was, all the time.

Lucas scouted himself closer to Maya on the bed. Reaching out he pushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear. With his fingers still entangled in her hair, he pulled her closer to him. Their lips pressed together softly at first. It was sweet and light and the feeling of Lucas' lips on hers made Maya's whole body flutter. The hand in her hair slowly slid down around her neck then down her back before resting on the small of her back. With a tilt of his head, Lucas grasped Maya's lower lip between his own as he pulled her closer and the kiss intensified. Maya wrapped her arms around Lucas' neck, nearly throwing herself into the motion they toppled over. Laughing they finally pulled apart. Rolling Lucas guided Maya so she was now lying on her bed not on top of him.

"I need to go before I get into any more trouble."

"Mr. Perfect in trouble, not possible."

"For this infraction, it'll be the rest of the weekend. But I'll call you as soon as I can."

Sitting up, she nodded, a dopey smile stuck on her face. Lucas got up, he might be in trouble more than just the weekend, but he didn't need Maya knowing that. He'd been so good since moving to New York, he wasn't sure if his mom would give him a break, or if she'd expect more from him. At the very least they would see each other on Monday and they would go from there. Reaching the window Lucas turned around and quickly walked back to Maya. Leaning down his kissed her lightly on the lips before finally leaving.


	9. New Normal

**Chapters will probably have a bit more time between each of them going forward. Finally getting a bit closer to the original intent when I started this story. Hope y'all are enjoying it :)**

There wasn't even an acknowledgment, for the first time in years, Maya hadn't even looked up from her seat on the couch to meet his eye. Sure last time she had been distracted, but this wasn't distraction, this was…well it was disinterest. Josh sat at the Matthew's kitchen table just watching Maya and Riley stare at the tv screen. She still hadn't even looked at him and he showed up nearly 2 hours ago, they were talking as if he wasn't even there.

"Why exactly is he picking you up here?"

"Cause my mom is home."

"But your mom loves him."

"Exactly, she just makes it so awkward. You remember last time at the café?"

Riley started grinning as she nodded. In return, Maya hit her best friend in the face with a throw pillow.

"Stop making that face! It was humiliating. She hovered! She just stood there behind us after giving us our smoothie and just…hovered. At one point she squatted down so her face was in between ours on the couch!"

"She's just happy you're happy. Not to mention Uncle Shawn is making her happy, it's just happiness over load at the Hart residence."

This time the pillow hit Riley's face and bounced off toward the kitchen. It had been a little different at home, a good different which wasn't something Maya was really used to. There were more meals together, when her mom wasn't working. Shawn showed up unannounced fairly often when he was in town, which turned out to be a lot more frequently than before. It would appear there where a lot of traveling options on the East Coast and he intended to visit all of them for his website. The Mid-west and West coast be damned apparently.

"So where are you going today?"

Maya just shrugged.

"No idea, it's a surprise."

"You hate surprises."

It was true, she did. She didn't mind surprising people, but traditionally, surprises meant uncertainty. It meant things could go wrong. It meant getting your hopes up and being let down. Sure her last birthday was a surprise party, but not really, she knew everything about it. If it had been a real one, it would not have gone as well. Maya preferred to be prepared. Dating Lucas was changing her.

"Yea, but Ranger Rick insisted I know nothing, so I know nothing."

The doorbell rang and neither girl bothered to get up. Mostly because Maya's legs were draped across Riley's lap and she was the one who didn't move a single inch at the noise. Riley on the other hand seemed to twitch as though she was going to stand, but the action just couldn't be completely. Still staring at the tv screen Maya spoke.

"Uncle Josh, the door."

"Ever the demanding one."

"It's what makes me me."

Still, not even a look in his direction. He figured she had moved on the last time they had interacted. But knowing it and really seeing it were two completely different things. Shaking his head, he got up from the kitchen table and made his way to the front door. On the way he grabbed the discarded pillow and tossed it at the girls. Pulling open the door his head had to tilt back slightly to meet Lucas' eyes, the 15 year old have a few inches on him. That just wasn't fair. Stepping away from the door, Josh held out an arm gesturing for Lucas to enter.

"Lucas."

"Hello sir."

Internally Josh cringed. This tall kid just called him Sir and that made Josh very uneasy. _I'm only three years old than you._ As the thought ran through his mind, Josh realized that was the first time three years didn't seem like some huge age gap. It was _only_ three years; it was as if that was nothing at all. Shaking the thoughts from his mind he turned to face Lucas. The whole reason he was here today was because his brother and sister-in-law were away from the day. It's not that Riley or Maya needed anyone to babysit them, but the idea of leaving Riley alone when Maya left for her date was enough for the Matthew's to want someone in proximity just to be safe. Mind you, the girls didn't know that.

"Picking up Maya for a date I hear."

Nodding, Lucas glanced over Josh's shoulder to look at his girlfriend smiling. At times it was still hard to believe that was true. But it was, for the past two months actually. Leaning backward, Maya grinned in return, but didn't actually bother getting up. Nodding, Lucas looked back at Josh.

"Correct. And I guess I should thank you."

Josh's eyebrow rose.

"For what?"

"If she didn't see you in the subway station, doubt this would even be happening."

"Well I'm glad I was able to make Maya nervous enough that you were forced to kiss her. Must have been terrible."

"Not so much."

Josh made to respond, but he quickly realized the kid in front of him wasn't even paying attention. This whole being completely ignored thing was going to getting annoying really fast. Guess he wasn't as close to being the cool uncle as he once was. Shaking his head, he just walked back to the kitchen. Lucas finally made his way over to the couch, where Maya was now lying backward on the couch so she had to look up at him. Grinning brightly she pointed up to him.

"Bucky McBoingBoing, hi."

"You know of all my nicknames, I think that's my least favorite."

"You realize that means it's the only name I'll use ever again."

There was a short silence from Lucas as he thought. Truthfully he had gotten so use to the nicknames, he almost felt weird whenever Maya did use his real name. Each name had too many memories attached, it was impossible not to actually like them now.

"I might not have thought that comment through all the way."

"It's okay McBoingBoing, I'm sure I'll find a new name for ya eventually."

"And I'm sure it'll be great and not at all offensive. Ready to go?"

Lucas reached out his hand for Maya to grab. She stared blankly at it for a moment before slowly sitting up and swinging her legs off Riley finally. She turned to her best friend.

"Am I? I have no idea what we're doing. How can I possibly be ready?"

Rolling his eyes, Lucas just grabbed Maya's arm and pulled her off the couch. Their finger entwined and she grabbed her purse from the couch. Despite the last two months, dates were not something either of them did very often. Their outings tended to revolved around spending time together before and after group activities. Dating was an adjustment, knowingly leaving Riley to spend time alone with a boy still seemed off, but the flutters in the stomach was always enough to make her more than okay with it. As Lucas led Maya toward the front door, she glanced over her shoulder.

"If I don't return know that I love you Riley and it's all Sundance's fault. Be sure to avenge me."

Glancing up at Lucas Maya grinned and he just shook his head in return. After they left, Josh got back up from the kitchen table and sat next to his niece. Grabbing Riley's legs he pulled them across his lap. She had been smiling happily the entire time Maya was here and even when Lucas showed up, but her face had dropped once they left.

"How you doing Riles?"

"I'm great Uncle Josh."

There was silence as Josh just stared at his niece and waited. After a few moments of Riley starting at her uncle she finally had to just look away. She wasn't doing great. She was often far from great and she hated that fact. She didn't even think she was allowed to be even a little bit upset.

"So I'm not, but I will be. I'm eventually I have to be don't I? It can't last forever."

There was worry in her eyes as she spoke. At times it was okay, but not always. Seeing that look, Josh quickly adjusted on the couch so he could wrap his arm around his niece tightly. Instinctively Riley rested her head against Josh's chest. Sometimes he was always more of an older brother than an uncle, but either way, Riley always knew he was there for her.

"Do you still have feelings for Lucas?"

Her head shook no against his chest, but she didn't bother to speak.

"Can I ask what it is then?"

Riley took a deep breath before sitting up on the couch slightly. With a bit of adjustment, she leaned her head on Josh's shoulder instead of his chest. There was a small shrug as she tried to pull her thoughts together. Part of her had been worried she might actually be jealous of Maya being with Lucas because it was Lucas. The more she thought about it all though, Riley couldn't even put into words what was going through her mind. She gave her best friend permission and she meant it. But the past two months, things were getting a bit more complicated.

"Everything is different now. It's all changed. I always knew Maya would move on without me at some point. Grow up before me. Leave me for someone, something. I didn't think it would happen with another one of my friends. I thought I had more time. I thought…"

Stopping short Riley just shrugged again. It was hard trying to explain it all. It all came down to this simple fact she was alone in her family's apartment while Maya and Lucas were out on a date together. Previously at moments like this, when Riley was worried about Maya growing up without her, Maya returned to Riley in the end. Just when one of them moved forward, the other caught up, or came back. With Missy, the "popular" party, their first date, their first college party. In the end it they came back together. They always moved forward together, but now Maya was moving forward without her. This time Riley knew Maya wasn't going to be coming back.

"I don't know if I'm gonna catch up to her."

Josh squeezed his niece's shoulder tightly.

"You might think that now, but it won't be like that forever. A couple months, a couple years, it means a lot one moment, then absolutely nothing the next."

"A couple years means nothing?"

Turning his head, Josh's eyes narrowed in on Riley. She was smirking. While he was happy she was in a teasing mood, he would have preferred a slightly different teasing. It was true though, three years didn't mean as much as it once did. It might not have reached nothing, but this feeling of someone moving on without you, that was something Josh was very familiar with. It was hard not to when he was so much younger than his brothers, even more so with his sister.

"Not yet…just…eventually."

"I just wish eventually was sooner."

"Have you talked to Maya about all of this?"

"And make her think I'm not happy for you? You saw how happy she's been with Lucas. I'm not going to do anything that will mess that up."

"Maya is your best friend that has not changed even if other things have. You can't let this all bubble up inside. It only makes everything worse. Talk to her, if Maya doesn't know what's going on, how can you two sort anything out?"

"Is this those three years of extra wisdom you keep going on about Uncle Josh?"

"Exactly, eventually you'll be as smart as me. Until then, just do as I say. Like now, let's get out of this apartment. Do something fun."

Nodding Riley pushed herself off the couch and held out her hand to help her uncle up as well. He was right; she did need to talk to her best friend. The only other option was say nothing and feel worse and worse. Nothing about that option was good. Once they were ready, Josh lightly shoved Riley out the door.


	10. Last Day

Everyone stared at the clock in the front of Harper's classroom. She had stopped teaching them anything a good 30 minutes ago. The final assignment was to write the most important moments of their 8th grade year, only two students were still writing in between glances at the clock. Maya and Farkle. Ever since Harper took over the English class, Maya had worked harder than imaginable, though it wasn't grades that drove her like Farkle or even Riley. It was the simple fact what Harper taught was interesting and exciting. She wanted to try. Even though her attention was on her paper, Maya should feel the guy behind her staring at her.

"Huckleberry I will end you if you don't let me finish this paper."

"Did I make it?"

"Elaborate."

"In your paper, did I make it as an important moment?"

After finishing her paper, Maya turned in her chair so she could lean on Lucas' desk, meeting his face as he leaned toward her. Even though the question was actually sweet, she couldn't help but be slightly annoyed that Lucas had interrupted her paper. Slowly Maya shook her head no, even though it wasn't even remotely true. He was the reason she hadn't stopped writing yet.

"Not even slightly."

Lucas pouted.

"Well you made mine."

The sincerity in his voice made her smile shyly. It was something after four months of dating she wasn't exactly use to. It still seemed odd, but she still loved it. Despite her momentary annoyance from the distraction, she wasn't being distracted any longer. Leaning in she placed a light kiss on Lucas' lips. A collective groan filled the classroom.

"Maya, Lucas, what did we say?"

"No PDA in the classroom."

The two answered in unison. This was not the first time they had recited that for Harper. Though once they were done, Maya went off on her own.

"How do you even know? Your eyes are glued on your desk."

Harper finally looked up from her desk, her eyes landing on Lucas and Maya with a tilted head. Standing up, she walked around the desk and leaned against it.

"Class, did Lucas and Maya kiss?"

A loud yes reverbed across the room. Maya jumped out of her chair and glared at her classmates.

"Traitors!"

With a pointed glance form Harper, Maya returned to her seat. Riley reached over and patted her best friend's arm sympathetically. The class was more than a little use to the occasional kiss between Lucas and Maya in class, it was more of a joke than an actually concern from anyone. Harper changed from leaning on her desk to sitting on it, taking a moment to glance at the clock before returning her attention to her students.

"As I'm sure you are all aware, you only have a few minutes left in middle school. I want you all to bear with me because I do have something left to teach before you run off. You are all going to be starting a new chapter in your lives, a chapter that leads toward your future. Time and time again you will be asked about that future. Where do you see yourself, what do you want to be doing, and who do you see yourself with. All of these are important questions and I'm not saying they aren't, but I want to leave you with something else too. You all just spent the last 30 minutes or so writing about your important moments this past year. In the broad scheme of things, some of the things you wrote done today will no longer be considered important. Who knows, maybe even all of them. But I want you to remember them. Remember who you were, remember what was important to you right now. Because you can decided later if they are still important, you can change your mind. All of you are determining who you want to be in this world and you are the ones that make the final decision. So look back, and look back often. Not for what ifs or things you could have done differently, but to decide if what was important then is still important now. If you want it to change, then let it change. If you don't, then don't. It will always be up to you."

The bell dismissing class for the year, the bell that dismissed the class from their final year of middle school had rung, but no one had moved or even heard it really. Instead the class began starting down at their papers, thinking over what they had written. Maya reached across the aisle and grabbed the hand that was already reaching for hers, Riley's. Even though she and Lucas were something and what was happening was important to her, Maya knew for certain the important part of this year that will stay important for the rest of her life was her best friend.

"Guess it would seem I kept you all into your summer break. My apologizes. Congratulations to all of you on graduating middle school and I'm looking forward to seeing you all at the ceremony tomorrow. And please, stop by my room anytime you want. I'm very excited to how each and every one of you turns out."

With one quick glance at all the students in her classroom, Harper smile.

"Dismissed."

Maya lead the class in a loud standing ovation for a few moments, before the truth started settling down on them. Middle school was over, they were done. High school was just around a nice long summer break. The cheers of students changed suddenly from exciting for a great teacher, to wild thrill of summer break. As everyone made their way out of the classroom, Maya and Riley continued to hold hands as they walked out the door and into the halls. Lucas had his arm wrapped around Maya's shoulder, and Farkle was desperately trying to get Riley to tell her just how many A's she was ending the year with. Something she had not yet disclosed.

"But I need to know who's winning! Team Minkus or Team Lawrence."

"You mean Team Matthews."

"Nope, my dad made it very clear, it's us against you and your mom. Nothing to do with Mr. Matthews."

"I'm sorry Farkle but I'm not gonna tell you. You'll have to find out some other way."

"Maya?"

"Nope, sorry Farky, ring power was already called on this one."

"Lucas?"

"Sorry buddy. I don't even know myself if I did I promise I'd te…"

A loud groan escaped Lucas' lips as Maya hit him across the stomach.

"I would not tell you even if I knew."

Grinning Maya patted Lucas lightly on the stomach where she had just slapped him. Glancing behind the girls heads though, Lucas caught Farkle's attention and mouthed to him.

" _I'll tell you when I get it out of Maya."_

With a slightly obvious thumbs up, Farkle was okay with finally changing the topic. There was a new normal within the group since Maya and Lucas had officially started dating. Farkle had been under the impression it would never work. Honestly he didn't even know anything was going on until the Monday after the Valentine's Day dance, when Lucas and he had a very long conversation about the best way to ask Maya out official. Farkle was a little annoyed his best friend hadn't taken any of his romantic advice, but it would appear it worked out anyway.

"Do you think we'll have classes together again in high school?"

"Farkle do we really have to think about next school year? This one just finished, can't we get through a few months of summer before worrying about it?"

"Maya…there's only a few months of summer to begin with."

"Yes, exactly we can worry about next school year the day next school year starts, and not a moment before."

As the reached their lockers outside Mr. Matthew's room their entangled arms and hands released. Lucas leaned against the locker next to Maya's and as she started pulling things out, she started loading them onto his arm. Riley on the other hand just put everything into her backpack.

"Come on Maya, aren't you even a little bit excited or nervous about high school? I'm excited, there is so much that can happened."

"Did I just hear that right? Riley Matthew's excited about the prospect of change."

Lucas' voice was muffled slightly from behind the growing stack of books he was carrying. Since they started dating, he had taken over being Maya's backpack from Riley. He knew this was going to happen today, which was also the reason he had cleaned out his own locker yesterday. Carrying two lockers worth of stuff might have been a bit much for him. Closing her locker, Riley leaned against it and smiled.

"I've come to realize not all change has to be bad".

"My little Riles is growing up!"

Shoving her final book at Lucas, Maya slammed her locker closed and crashed into Riley hugging her tightly. With a bit of maneuvering, Maya pulled Riley down so her head was resting in Maya's shoulder. Maya awkwardly petted Riley's hair as she hunched over.

"Next thing you know she'll be going off to high school."

"I am g…."

The rest of the response was muffled as Maya's hand ran over Riley's mouth shushing her. The two girls stayed in that position for a bit too long until realizing the rest of the school had nearly completely emptied out. Once that fact dawned on them, the four gathered their belongings. As they made their way up toward the stairs Riley paused for a moment then turned quickly on the spot and rushed to her dad's classroom. After a quick exchange Maya, Lucas, and Farkle followed Riley. Once they make it to the room, they found her sitting in her now old seat. Without saying anything, the others followed suite. For a few minutes they stared at the black board.

"It's really the end isn't it?"

"New School."

"New Rules."

"No Matthews."

Maya tuned on her seat so she was now sitting as she normally did, with her arm on Lucas' desk. It all seemed unbelievable. Sitting here for the last time. It didn't feel like the end when they were actually in this room for the last time in the morning. When class ended none of them even thought about it as they walked out of the room, ran really. Suddenly though, it seemed like this really was the end. This was the last time they would sit in the classroom, in these seats. Today was the last time they'd be taught by Mr. Matthews (fingers crossed). Sitting in these seats knowing all of that, and finally letting it all sink in was a lot. After a moment of silence Riley spoke up.

"It really is going to be different, next year."

"Yea but we still have time until next year. Let's not rush it."

As Lucas spoke he stood up and held out his hand for Maya to take. Taking his hand she stood up herself before helping out Riley, then Farkle. Hand in hand, the group finally walked out of Mr. Matthew's room for the last time. Once everyone left, Riley took one last look around before turning off the light and closing the door behind them. Returning to her place in line, the group finally made their way out of John Quincy Adams Middle School.

"Okay but really, what are we going to do this summer?"


	11. Date Night

**First of all, thanks so much for the reviews y'all. I really appreciate the time y'all took to do that :)**

 **B) Just so you know, there will be more time between chapter posts, I've got a lot of projects and papers and GISHWHES and events coming up so I just don't have as much time to get stories out as quickly as I was in the beginning. Thanks for the understanding.**

 **III) Just a reminder, this story works within the premise of screen shots. Each chapter is just a single look into the relationships of Lucas, Maya, Riley, Farkle, and the rest of the GMW characters at various points, following a certain timeline. There might be a bit more lapses of time between chapters as I write them so I've decided to throw in what month each chapter is taking place in. Just to give a better idea of where everyone is :)**

 **Okay...enough from me now - Enjoy**

 _ **July**_

The line for the Coney Island Cyclone hadn't seemed to move in ages. Lucas leaned against the metal railing with Maya standing just in front of him, his hands resting on her waist. Coney Island was a requirement for any New Yorker, at some point or another. Normally Maya went with Riley and her family and while that was still the plan at some point this summer, their five month anniversary just happened to land before the Matthews vacation day.

"We're never gonna move are we?"

"Nope, we'll stay in this spot for the rest of our lives."

"How am I supposed to call you Hop-Along if you are incapable of hopping along?"

Lucas' eyes rolled and tugged lightly on Maya's waist so she tumbled into him. His arm wrapped around her tightly. Leaning down he planted a kiss on her forehead. They had spent almost all morning together already and by the end of the night it would be the longest time they had spent alone together. It had been going far too well in Maya's mind which worried the small part of her mind that was still believing she was not allowed to get what she wanted. In those moments though, she just had to look up and meet Lucas' eyes. That tended to do the trick.

"You know if you're that concerned about the wait we could always go on a different ride. We've been on this one before…a few times."

With a look of offense on her face Maya took a step back. Her eyes narrowed in and she poked Lucas' chest.

"We will wait. It's not possible to go on this roller coaster enough times."

After a short pause she smiled shyly.

"This might only be the second summer I've been able to even go on it."

A snicker escaped as Lucas grinned. In response to his laughing Maya made a motion to punch him. With ease he grabbed her fist then tugged her forward again. Wrapping his arms around her tightly, she attempted to wiggle away with no avail.

"Really shortstack? Never would have guessed you'd be too short to ride a roller coaster."

"You shut your mouth Ranger Rick."

"You know you lo…"

Before the words escaped his lips though, Maya rose on her tippy toes and planted a quick kiss on his lips. He was getting dangerously close to saying the L word. While he wasn't saying he loved her, he was setting it up for her to response with a resounding yes. Five months was far too soon to say that, she was very certain about that simple fact. Lowering down, Maya turned as the line finally started edging forward.

"You didn't shut your mouth, so I just had to do if for you."

Glancing over her shoulder Maya grinned at the smirk that appeared on Lucas' face. A few inappropriate comments flashed through his mind, instead of saying any of them though, he just decided to follow Maya's suggestion and shut his mouth. His arm wrapped around her shoulder and the continued to wait for their turn on the roller coaster, the first row always seemed to take the longest.

* * *

As the roamed throughout Luna Park their fingers were entwined, despite the complications it caused while attempting to eat their Nathan's hotdogs. All day they felt as if they were in their own little world. Almost as if they were back to when they were first on their way to being something. Summer with Riley and Farkle has been nice, Lucas and Maya would never dispute that. But this, hand in hand, just the two of them, well it was great. After finishing their lunch Maya dragged Lucas toward the carnival games. Finally stopping in front of _Break a Plate_ , she turned her back to the game and grinned.

"Am I supposed to win you a prize?"

With a scoff she shook her head.

"Come on, we both know I'm the better pitcher. I'm gonna win you a prize. "

Paying the man behind the counter, Maya was able to break all 5 plates with ease to win a prize. After forcing Lucas to turn around and close his eyes, she picked out the perfect prize for her boyfriend. Standing in front of Lucas, she shoved the stuffed animal in his face before finally letting him open his eyes.

"TADA!"

Laughing Lucas grabbed the soft white horse with pink mane and tale from Maya and examined it closely. There was a look of pride on his face. Not for a moment did he think she wouldn't be able to win, smashing plates was something Maya had a strong aptitude for, but still he was proud. Though he said nothing about it, he knew exactly where in his room the horse was going to go.

"Do you like it Cowboy?"

"I do."

"I thought it would remind you of home."

"Oh it does, my horse back home looks exactly like this."

"I figured Huckleberry. At least this horse will fit in our house."

"Not to mention she'll match the décor in my room perfectly."

With the stuffed animal tucked under his arm he grabbed Maya's hand and started looking for another game. More specifically though, Lucas was trying to find the right prize to try and win for Maya. A stuffed ferret seemed too obvious, not that he could find one, though the thing he really wanted was a ridiculous 10 gallon hat. It would seem like it would be a perfect fit with what she got him too. After looking through all the prizes, he finally found what he was looking for in the corner of the Whac-A-Mole. Guiding Maya, Lucas pulled out his wallet to pay when a voice pulled their attention away.

"Mr. Perfect and Miss Rebel. Such the cute widdle couple."

"Della."

Maya groaned when she had heard the voice and the name escaped her lips before she could stop herself. Slowly she turned around to look at Joey Ricciardella. Lucas felt his hand clench at the sight of Joey. It was been five months and he had still actively avoided the guy. Each time he saw Joey in the hall all he could see was the way he had Maya pinned against the wall and each time he still wanted to punch the guy. As if aware of the mental struggle doing on in mind of her boyfriend, Maya took a step in front of Lucas, placing herself between the two boys.

"Couldn't win a prize for your girl so you had to have her win it for you?"

"Pretty much yea."

The bait hadn't worked as he had expected. Lucas had messed with Joey's reputation a few too many times. It began to spread that first time in the hall with the other new kid, that Lucas Frair, Moral Compass, could kick Joey Ricciardella's ass. Always in whispers and hushed tones, whenever either of them walked passed one another, and there was nothing Joey could do about it. Not in school at least. Not without too many risks. Here though it was supposed to work. Here they could settle the score.

"Do you really want to do this Joey? I thought we've already been over this. We go our separate ways and both of us hold onto our reputations."

"Who cares about middle school reputations anyways. No adults around to stop us either. Scared?"

Stepping out from behind Maya, Lucas shook his head. It was so clear to him that Joey was just trying to bait him. Knowing that made it very easy for Lucas to just ignore the bully in front of him. After all, he spent over a year dealing with Maya's baiting and he was able to easily avoid that rabbit hole. At this point, Joey was nothing. Grabbing Maya's hand Lucas began to walk past Joey.

"Not even slightly."

As they passed the boy, Maya felt a hand grabbed her arm tightly and pull her backwards. The force the pull ripped Maya's hand away from Lucas's and she tumbled down to the ground. Falling with a loud crash a gasp of pain escaped her lips. Before she could even acknowledge anything else though she heard a loud crack from above her. Next to her someone else came crashing down to the ground, Joey. His hand reached up to his nose, blood seeped through the small spaces between his fingers. Maya's eyes widened as she looked from Joey to Lucas who was standing and shaking out his right hand, a few specs of blood appeared on his knuckles. Lucas squatted down to be level with Joey. The bully attempted to scoot away while still covering his nose, the blood trickling out more rapidly.

"Don't you ever touch Maya again. If you do, I'll break more than just your nose. And that reputation you care so much about will be the last thing you have to worry about."

Lucas' voice was low and deep, nothing like his usual tone. That tone mixed with the darkness in his eyes made everything about his stance menacing. Lucas jerked forward as if to hit Joey again, with wide eyes Joey scrambled up and ran off in the other direction. With the bully now gone, Lucas turned his attention to Maya, whose hand was covering the red mark that was growing on her arm. Gently he removed her hand and ran his fingers across the mark. A deep frown grew on his face.

"Are you okay?"

Sitting up Maya nodded. Her butt was a little sore, as well as her arm, but nothing would last longer than the afternoon. Grabbing his hand in hers, Maya examined it closely. Pulling at the bottom of her shirt she whipped away the tiny specs of blood before pulling it into her lap.

"You shouldn't have done that. He's not going to let that go."

"Let him do whatever he wants. Maybe a few more punches and he'll get it through his thick skull of his not to touch you, or anyone else for that matter again."

Maya eyes narrowed in on Lucas and he just shrugged. Moments ago his tone was menacing, now it was just anger. He had changed a lot since leaving Texas. Though he always fought to defend his friends, even though often it was their own fault, that wasn't the same anymore. Before he would fight first and ask question later, if at all. Now though, he tried diplomacy first. Punches were definitely the last option; Lucas had just expelled all his other options with Joey. It might take him longer to get to that mind set, once he was there though, it was still difficult to get out of it. Maya continued to stare until finally the hard look on Lucas' face softened.

"I can promise you he won't do anything about it. I use to be him, kind of. After that, he won't risk me hurting him more. That three times I've won, moment's pass for him to regain control."

As he spoke, Lucas sat down next to Maya, so now they were both just sitting in the middle of the game section of Luna Park. Despite the occasional near steps, the rest of the crowd simply walked around them. As the past few moments started settling in his mind, Lucas found himself frowning again. He was disappointed in himself.

"I'm sorry by the way. That's the second time I've taken things too far. I am working on my anger."

Maya held on tightly to Lucas' own hand and just smiled. She didn't want to go as far as telling him how much his ability to defend her exciting him, she doubted that would actually help anything. Still she didn't wanted Lucas to feel even remotely bad about what he had done. It was clear it wasn't like it was his first reaction when seeing Joey.

"You have nothing to apologize for Lucas. You tried to take the higher road, you can't control if the other person doesn't."

Leaning forward Lucas responded with a deep kiss. It would always be odd hearing Maya say his name, but in the end it always meant what she was saying was utterly sincere. And right now, that sincerity was exactly what he needed. Despite not wanting it, he pulled away from her and placed a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I don't know how I feel about you calling me Lucas."

"That's your name."

"Um, pretty sure it's Huckleberry, or Ranger Rick, or Hop Along, or Cowboy, Or Sun…"

Throwing herself across to Lucas, Maya's lips crashed into his before they toppled over onto the ground. Anything to keep him from saying more names. It would take a long time if he was to go through all the names she called him. Lucas' arms wrapped around her waist as the kiss continued, with Maya lying atop him. One of his hands began to roam up her back, pulling her in closer. It wasn't until a loud crowd member shouted out _GET A ROOM_ , that they remembered where they were again. Pushing up against Lucas' chest Maya smiled shyly. Finally standing up she reached out her hand to help Lucas up as well. Shoving the stuffed horse under his arm again, Lucas grabbed Maya's hand. Before he could say anything though, she began to tug him along.

"To the cyclone!"

"Again?"

"Absolutely."


	12. Family Bonding

**Fingers crossed y'all are still around after all this time. My work load has been insane lately and I just didn't have time to write anything at all. But I've got some time again and I'll be back to posting for awhile. Thanks for all y'all for waiting for me.**

 **August**

"You're coming with me."

"What?"

"No questions asked you're coming with me."

Despite his protest, Josh allowed his niece to grab his arm and pull him away from the Matthew's couch and out the door. He should have known it was a mistake to hang out here. With only a few weeks left before his dorm move in date, he thought it might be nice to relax away from his parents. After all these years they were finally going to be empty nesters and the attention was starting to get to him. A few days away seemed like the better option, especially since the other option was just exploding under the attention. The Matthews family bonding however had expanded to Corey's family as well. Josh had thought everyone else had left meaning he had the place to himself for a moment, he had been wrong apparently.

"Where are we going Riley? I want to do nothing today, it's summer.

"You sound just like Maya."

"Ah yes, the ferret. Why don't you drag her along with you?"

As Riley continued to lead her uncle down the street, it didn't take him long to realize where they were going. Honestly, he probably should have known right away. Topanga's. Josh held open the door for his niece and followed her. Unlike with her friends though, she walked to the back of the café and took a seat at the counter.

"Can't she's busy."

"How is it possible that Maya is busy and you aren't?"

"Six month anniversary."

Josh's eyes widened. It seemed like just yesterday those two has started dating and his niece was worrying about being left behind. Hell, even Josh was feeling a little left behind, he had never made it 6 months in a relationship and he was about to enter college. Beside the point. For a moment he was silent, watching Riley's face after she spoke and as she ordered them both smoothies. Her face hadn't dropped like last time. No, Riley was her normal smiling happy self.

"And you're okay with that?"

His voice was soft, as if testing the waters. In response Riley turned her head sharply at her uncle, a look of confusion covering her face. For a moment she had forgotten, forgotten that she had been so worried about Maya leaving her behind, forgotten that Josh was the one that gave her the advice to just be honest with Maya and talk. Slowly it all came forward to the front of her mind. A sincere smile appeared on Riley's face as she handed Josh a smoothie.

"Completely."

"So we didn't go out so you didn't have to be alone today?"

"Nope."

There was a second long pause, her face remained happy. Her response short, sweet, and direct. There was no doubt in his mind that she really was okay. For that brief moment he was worried, now though, he had settled into a different mindset. That his niece was up to something and considering who her father was, he should probably figure out what. The sooner the better.

"Well, in that case….why are we here?"

Swiveling in her chair, Riley clasped her hands together grinning at her uncle. Whatever she was up to was enough to make Josh believe maybe being upset about Lucas and Maya would have been the easier option. Possibly less detrimental to his own sanity.

"Can't I just spend time with my favorite uncle?"

"Don't let Eric hear that."

The response was mumbled as Josh continued to watch his niece. Sometimes it was really hard to sort out what was going on in that girl's head. There was always so much more going on than anyone would ever realize. Josh turned his attention to his smoothie, there was no doubt she wouldn't tell him anything until she was ready. Of all the Matthews trait, the scheming was probably the most annoying, they all had it and Riley was no different.

"It's nothing bad."

Josh's attention turned back to his niece. His eyebrow rose suspiciously and he continued to stare at her silently.

"Honest."

The silence remained.

"Just take a look around would you? And tell me what you see."

There it was, that tone of Riley's that was far more mature than it seemed possible. How was a 14 year old capable of making an 18 year old feel so small. Shaking his head softly Josh began looking around the café. The place was on the busy side when they had arrived and it had only gotten busier. Each table, chair, and couches were full.

"It's very busy."

"And?"

"Lots of socializing."

"And?"

"Lots of coffee…OW."

Josh glared at his niece as he rubbed his arm that she had so politely slapped.

"Alright, what do you want me to be noticing then?"

"The people."

"What about them?"

"Just look!"

With a groan of annoyance Josh looked around again at the crowed. Despite how often he had seen his niece and her friends here, there wasn't a single middle school or even high school student in the crowed.

"It's all college students, is that what I'm supposed to notice?"

Grinning Riley nodded and finally took a sip of her own smoothie.

"Stop hanging out at our house. Hang out here. I know you're nervous about starting college but come on, hanging out at your brother's place with your niece when you have this place filled with NYU students seems a little weird."

"Maybe I like spending time with my brother and his family."

"I never said you didn't, but you can still run into us here. I'm just saying this might be a good way to ease into it all. Instead of being so nervous when school really starts."

A small smile grew on Josh's face. Of all the schemes, this was not even remotely close to what he had expected. She was right of course, though he doubted she knew just how nervous he really was when it came to starting college. He knew students at NYU, he had family so close, possibly a little too close, but once again besides the point. And yet, there was something about starting college that he was utterly terrified about. He had worked so hard to get to this point and now that he was here, well, it was hard to comprehend it all.

"How may I ask did you get so smart niece?"

"You've met my mother haven't you?"

"Should have known it was from your Lawrence side."

"Alright it's time for me to go. If I see you back at the house anytime soon I'll be changing the locks. Stay here, hang out, make friends."

Standing up Riley leaned over and gave her uncle a kiss on the check before turning around and walking out of Topanga's. After closing the door behind her Riley found herself staring through the small window looking at Josh as he sat at the counter alone for a moment soon enough another college student filled her old seat. A few minutes passed as Riley continued to watched her uncle, just as she was about to go back in and force him to start socializing, Josh and the girl began speaking. Grinning Riley lowered herself from the window and make her way back home.


	13. Fresh Start

**It would appear I still have my readers out and about there so really thanks so much! Please review and let me know what you think. I definitely missed getting to write so it's really great to be back :)**

 **September**

Maya stared up blankly at the seemingly enormous stairs. Truthfully there were fewer stairs than their middle school and yet something about them seemed very ominous. Riley stood next to her in silence, which was the first time it happened since Maya arrived at the Matthews' house that morning. Not that Maya heard a single thing her best friend had said. This was it, this was high school. As she stared she felt an arm wrap around her left arm. Turning her head Maya glanced at her smiling best friend.

"You ready?"

"Nope, not at all. Let's go back home."

Slowly Maya attempted to take a few steps back, anything to get herself further away from the building in front of her. This was the first year she was able to actually pick some classes, this was the first time her education was honestly in her hands and she was starting to hate that fact. She had a bit too much hope this time around and she still wasn't fully used to that. Before she backed too far away though, she bumped into someone's chest. Her eyes closed as comforting hands found their place on her shoulders slowly rubbing away her tension.

"You're not going back home."

"Come on, I've made it this far can't that be enough for today? I mean really who thought I was going to even make it to high school? I've accomplished enough for the day."

"Peaches…"

A loud groan escaped Maya's lips. She knew what Riley was going to say, well most likely. It wasn't hard to get into her best friends head at times, despite how often she tried to avoid it. Once again Maya tried to get away before her best friend and boyfriend were able to talk her out of desire to run away. It was pointless of course; Lucas was easily able to keep her in place. Despite wanting to avoid looking at him, Maya turned around to look at him. His hands moved from her shoulders to her waist as she moved. A soft smile graced his lips as he stared down at her.

"Shortstack…"

Maya pouted.

"Why do you two have to gang up on me? You're both supposed to be on my side. I'm not the studious type. I shouldn't be here, come on. Let me just…not be here? Please?"

"Nope."

"Not gonna happen."

"We won't let it happen."

The pout grew as Maya opened her mouth to speak again, Lucas's lips fell against hers. Her eyes fluttered closed as she found herself falling into the kiss. It still seemed strange kissing Lucas in front of their friends. It wasn't something that happened often, even after 6 months, but apparently that didn't stop Lucas at this moment. Pulling away slowly Lucas pushed Maya's hair behind her ear, his hand resting on her check.

"We are walking up those stairs and we are going into that school. Together. And there is nothing you can do about it."

"I'll fight you Huckleberry."

"Really? Ready to finally find out who'll actually win?"

As they spoke Maya and Lucas both stood up straight. Despite the fact they were both just as close as when they kissed, the entire mood had changed. Their faces were straight and determined, neither willing to back down. As Lucas look down at Maya she grabbed his shirt in her fist pulling him closer and down so their faces were centimeters apart. As they glared at each other, Lucas raised his eyebrow a smirk growing on his face. In response Maya found herself biting her lower lip. It was hard to see Lucas that way and not absolutely love it. Taking a step back Maya broke first, pulling her attention away from Lucas and returning it to Riley.

"I will not get into a fist fight with my boyfriend on the first day of high school. Probably would give the wrong impression, worse than not showing up at all."

"Oh of course. It has nothing to do with the fact you think I could sooo take you."

With a pointed glare at Lucas, Maya fully walked away from him back to Riley. Sticking out her tongue at him she took her best friends hand and then reached for Lucas's too. With the two most important people in her life on her side, Maya finally started up the steps to her new school. The anxiety was building as she made the finally few steps toward the front door. Still looking forward she gave Lucas and Riley's hands right squeezes. Their responses put a smile on her face. She wouldn't be going through this alone.

It took the group a few minutes to find their lockers, learn no one actually used their assigned lockers, and locate four lockers together before they were able to find Farkle. Who apparently had been at the school for a few hours already finding every classroom he might have in the next four years and signing up for a few clubs. Once they were all settled in their lockets everyone pulled out their schedules to verify where they were going. Maya hadn't bothered to look at hers at all until this moment, but suddenly she wished she had. Her eyes widened, of the seven periods she had only three with her friends and it wasn't even with all of them. PE with Riley, Math with Riley and Lucas, and History with all three. She had the least number of classes with the group.

"When am I going to see you guys? In the halls? This isn't…that's not right."

Riley was the one to grab Maya's hand first. At least those three classes she had with her best friend, seven would be been better though. But she should have known, Riley wanted to take Spanish and photography, and advanced English was the right move for her. But still, it wasn't fair. Pulling the schedule out of Maya's hand, Riley grabbed a purple pen from her bag and started marking up the schedule. As Maya tried to grab it, Lucas pulled it out of her hands and began making up the paper in blue, before passing it off to Farkle who in turn marked it with an orange maker. Giving it a glance over Riley returned the paper to Maya. It in there was stars, hearts, and other shapes written throughout the paper marking when Maya would see each of her friends.

"Now you know when you'll see all of us. I think it's pretty obvious from all that color you're stuck with us."

Before Maya could response a loud bell rang throughout the halls, five minutes until classes began. Here it is, the start of the new school. There was no turning back. She really didn't have an option. With a quick wave to the group Farkle bound off toward his science class. Giving her best friend a tight squeeze, Riley waved making her way down a different corridor toward Spanish. Closing his locker then Maya's, Lucas grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in close. There was soft smile on his face, giving away his own disappointment that they wouldn't see each other nearly as much as he'd like. Despite that, he did his best to hide it for her.

"Two periods then we'll meet here for break, then we can head to math together. Two hours will be nothing at all you know that."

Leaning forward, Lucas' forehead pressed against Maya's.

"Two hours is nothing."

"With a bit more enthusiasm."

"Two hours is nothing!"

The pep in Maya's voice was so odd to hear it was hard not to laugh. Pulling his head away Lucas grinned down at his girlfriend. Her voice might have sounded peppy but her face was still disappointed. She looked almost lost.

"With that tone you could be a cheerleader. We could run this school. Football player and his blonde cheerleader, I think there's a good cliché in there."

"So not gonna happen."

With a shrug Lucas just smiled. Glancing at the clock quickly, he realized they needed to leave before they were both late for their first ever high school class. His hand moved up to rest on Maya's cheek. Leaning forward he placed a kissed on her lips. While the pressure of their lips together stopped their lips lingered for a few moments longer. Before he pulled away completely he whispered against her lips.

"Just two hours."

Nodding Maya give Lucas' hand a squeeze before letting him head off to the science class he had with Farkle. Glancing around Maya realized she was alone. Sure she had her friends and they all made it very clear they would see other often, here she was alone now. Taking a deep breath she flung her backpack over her shoulder and walked to the classroom just a few doors away. Stepping inside she nodded to the people she knew from middle school, but most of these students looked completely foreign to her. The room was set up almost exactly like Mr. Matthews, even if it was an English class, at least that made it feel familiar. Taking the seat that should have belonged to Lucas, Maya pulled out her notebook. Without Riley, Farkle, or Lucas to steal notes from, she'd have to take her own notes. Guess it was time for a fresh start.


	14. Homecoming

**So this chapter ended up longer than I planned, mainly cause I didn't want to cut the chapter in half or just cut anything out. For all non-Texas...I highly recommend looking up homecoming mums after you read this to really get what I'm talking about. They are ridiculous and to this day I hate that they aren't a thing anywhere else really. It was hard not to throw it in when I myself had a similar experience realizing I wasn't gonna get one when I finally went to Homecoming.**

 _ **October**_

The bonus of art class was the freedom. Or at least that was the case for Maya. It really was true, when you tried in a class, teachers tended to appreciate it. Art was the one thing Maya would forever try in. Passion had that effect on a person. For Maya, freedom in art class meant she could find a place to draw outside the classroom during free draw days. Her drawing spot was the same for the past month and a half, the football field. The main reason was because Lucas had football practice for the last period of the day and it was one of the easiest ways to see him.

Sitting in the tow row of the bleachers, Maya watched the freshman football team practice. As she watched her hand aimlessly drew. Despite getting pens from the Matthews so long ago and always using oil paints in class, when she was drawing on her own free time she found out she much preferred charcoal pencils. Something about them was just…smooth. It was the best way to describe it. Sadly the pencils made for some difficulty when she wasn't paying too close attention to what she was doing, the smudging could be horrible. Glancing down at her paper though she was shocked to see she hadn't smudged a single line unintentionally. Then again, it was another drawing of Lucas' face, something she had gotten a little too good at over the months. Staring down at her portrait of her boyfriend Maya didn't look up again until she heard someone shouting something other than plays.

"FRIAR WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

"It'll just be a moment Coach."

"Son you keep running up those stairs you can kiss that JV starting position goodbye."

"Come on Coach, I swear just a moment."

As the shouting continued Maya saw Lucas running on the bleachers toward her. Her eyes widened. What the hell was he doing? His coach was threatening to take JV away…not that Maya knew that that meant but by the look on the rest of the team's faces it was big deal to risk it. The rest of the freshmen team was all standing behind the coach, in dead silence. Catching Lucas' eye she started to shake her head as she stood up. What was he thinking? He was going to say hi and get kicked off the team based off the red on the coach's face. The two of them saw each other enough; he didn't need to do that at all. Since the shaking head wasn't working, Maya began to shoo him away too.

"Friar are you trying to tell me that girl is more important to you than football?

"Without a doubt Coach."

Maya's eyes widened and her whole body stood still.

"You know what you're doing Friar?"

Lucas was finally standing in front of Maya, a step down from her so they were nearly the same height. Sweat was dripping from his hair as he stood there. She could see beads on his neck as the slowly dripped down passed the collar of his shirt. Even like this Maya loved the way he looked. His was breathing deeply, enough to make his check lift noticeably with each breath. Now that he was standing there Maya just shook her head slowly. What was he doing risking something for her.

"I know exactly what I'm doing Coach."

"Clearly you don't Huckleberry."

"Will you shut up Shortstack, I want to ask you something."

A look of disbelief filled her eyes as she stared at her boyfriend. Really, that was it; he wanted to ask her something. They were going to see each other in 30 minutes when school was over. Now she was going to have to carry around the guilt of being the reason he got kicked off the team. There was no way in hell she was that important.

"Lucas please just go back down and make nice with your coach. Please. Whatever it is it can't be that important. I'll see you after school and you can talk to me then. Please, just go back."

"Maya you're always gonna be more important to me than anything, I hope you know that."

Despite the situation, she smiled. It was a sweet, and not something she often heard. But still he was being an idiot. He could easily make that sentiment in a way that was less detrimental to his sports career at school.

"Friar you sure?"

"Yes Coach."

Just as Maya opened her mouth again to protest someone else started to shout. Not just someone, many someones. An entire freshman football team of someones. Maya's mouth gaped as she listened to the shouting crowd.

"MAYA HART WILL YOU GO TO HOMECOMING WITH ME?!"

The shout seemed to echo through the field, and if she wasn't mistaken, throughout the school too. Glancing over Lucas shoulder she stared down at the team, and coach, all grinning as they lifted up the largest sign she had ever seen. The type of sign that football teams bust through at the start of a game. The message that was shouted was as also written out in large block letters. It wasn't the most artistically skilled poster in the world, but it didn't need to be. Pulling her attention back to Lucas, Maya met his bright grin with a look of annoyance.

"You ask me to homecoming by making me think you're gonna be kicked off the team."

"Yes ma'am."

"Alright Bucky McBoing Boing and that seemed like a good idea?"

A low groan escaped Lucas lips as his bright grinned turned into shy smile. It had been ages since she used that nickname, since he told her it was his least favorite. Which meant using it not was without a doubt a very specific thing. She was not pleased.

"About five minutes ago I did."

"You…stupid…dork."

The look of annoyance vanished instantly as Maya broke into a smile and laughed. Lucas eyes widened and he wrapped his arms around her waist. With easy he lifted her up and spun her off the bleacher so he was holding her tight against him, her feet dangling. Instinct kicked in and Maya wrapped her arms his neck, only to instantly regret the decision.

"Ew you're so sweaty."

"Yea but you're going with me to homecoming with me so who cares."

"I haven't said yes."

"But you will."

"You sure about that?"

"Absolutely."

With a kiss the football team began cheering loudly. Once Lucas placed her back on the bench so she could stand her eyes rolled as he turned around to face his team. A punch in the air for celebration just made his teammates scream even louder. Even the coach was clapping, for a moment.

"Alright Friar back to work."

"Yes sir."

After another peck on the lips Lucas turned back around and with light push from Maya he made his way back down the bleachers to practice. Truth be told she didn't need some elaborate way to get asked to homecoming, at all. The grand gestures had always been more of Riley's thing than Maya's, and it wasn't as if this was all that grand. Though as she sat back down and practice resumed, she couldn't get the smile off her face. It couldn't have been that easy to get the whole team and coach involved. But he did it for her.

* * *

"What the hell is this?"

"It's a mum."

"A _what_?"

"A mum."

"That is not an explanation Huckleberry."

Lucas glanced around at the rest of the group. Riley was happily playing with the bells and ribbons dangling from the mum that Lucas attached to Maya's locker. As people walked through the halls each of them took an extended glance at the group and the giant mum. After getting a shrug from Farkle, Lucas' face dropped.

"It's a tradition for homecoming. The guy makes his date a mum, personizes it with school colors and her interest with little dangling trinkets. Do people really not do that here at all? I know it's a bigger deal in Texas but…really nothing?"

There was a sincere sadness on Lucas' face as he continued to glance around his friends. He wished Zay was around, at least then he'd have someone that knew what he was doing. He'd been in New York for long enough to know it wasn't the same as Texas but there were traditions he was so excited about for high school it never hit him they wouldn't be the same. Lucas fell against the lockers next to the mum and swatted the ribbons causing the bells to chime. Despite his disappointment he looked over at Maya apologetically.

"I'm sorry. It's this huge thing in Texas and I probably should have realized it wasn't here. I'll take it down so you don't have to worry about it."

Maya stared at Lucas, and for once he had no idea how to decipher what she was thinking. Normally her mood was so easy to read. At least for him. Right now though, he just stared as she walked up to him. With Lucas slumped against the lockers, their height differences wasn't as intense at it normally was. Once she was right against his slumped form, she took another step forward forcing him to stand up straight. With a look of confusion Lucas stared down at the small blonde girl in front of him. He watched intently as she reached up grabbed his tie (why football players had to dress up for games never made sense to him but he did it anyways) and straightened it before tightening the knot.

"It's an intriguing tradition. It's just supposed to hang there on the locker…"

"You were it."

"I _what?_ "

Maya shook her head clearing her thoughts.

"You made it for me. That's the second thing…third if you count the sign when you asked me to homecoming. So I'm gonna like it. I do like it, even if it's the weirdest tradition I know."

"So you'll…."

"Hold your horses Sundance, I'm not gonna wear it, but I'm keeping it there."

"Can I wear it?"

Turning their heads Maya and Lucas laughed as the watched Riley eye the mum. She seemed to having a little too much fun playing with all the string, bells, and trinkets attached. Glancing back at Lucas for a moment Maya nodded.

"It's all yours to wear if you want Peaches."

"YAAAAAAAAAY. It's so _pretty_!"

Shaking his head Lucas took a step around Maya and began to help Riley put on the mum, pinning it to her jacket since it was a bit too heavy for her shirt. With a grin she bound off to her classroom bells ringing as she walked down the hall. Lucas wrapped his arm around Maya, with Farkle in tow, the three walked Maya to her English classroom before the two boys made their way to Biology.

* * *

There was complete silence as Maya and Lucas just stared at each other. Once Shawn opened the door to let Lucas in there hadn't been a single word spoken. The last time there was a dance was the faithful night Riley found out, when they finally were honest with what they wanted. And that was nearly eight months ago. Now he was picking her up for their first big High School dance, and more importantly he was picking up his date. His date who was utterly beautiful. The royal blue dress was perfect on her, her hair was pulled up but there were wisps of blonde curls that brushed against her neck. A neck he so desperately wanted to kiss. In the distance someone cleared their throat and Lucas finally pulled his attention off of Maya to look at Shawn. Who happened to be far closer than either of them realized.

"If I'm not mistaken a hello is typically required at this moment."

As Shawn spoke he took a step behind Lucas and put his hands on the young boy's shoulders, squeezing a bit tighter than necessary. It was hard to believe it had already been so long since the two started dating. Because of how similar Shawn and Maya were, part of him was worried that she would be like him with everything, the opposite sex included. Luckily for him, that wasn't the case. At least he was able to keep a very close and threatening eye on the one boy that was keeping Maya's attention.

"Maya…you look beautiful."

Maya would never be a girly girl, whatever that actually meant. And there was nothing wrong with that in her mind. But if there was ever a moment for her to be that type of girl, the one that wants the frills and the sappy love story, this would be the time. Her cheeks flushed at the complement, her head tilting to the side slight. She desperately needed to get a hold of herself, especially with Shawn staring at her with that look and her mom emanating glee a few steps away.

"Thanks Huckleberry, you look pretty dashing yourself. And pleased you left the mum at home."

Lucas smirked as his mouth opened to give a snarky retort before grimacing. The hands on his shoulders squeezed tightly and he could feel Shawn's breath on his neck. A small voice in Lucas' head told him if he moved wrong the man behind him would have no problem killing him. This man was a bit more deadly to deal with than Mr. Matthews had been in regards to Riley.

"You loved it."

"I did."

The response was quick, it happened before she even thought about it. But there it was. Maya's stomach had this odd habit of fluttering whenever the word love was used in response to anything related to Lucas. It started happening months ago but she was so good at avoiding it. The silence between them fell again as they just smiled. While her eyes were locked on Lucas she could see in the corner her mom smiling brightly at Shawn. It was enough to pull Maya's attention away from Lucas and get her head on straight.

"Alright enough of the staring, we've got a dance to attend to. Think you could teach me a hoedown Hopalong?"

"Absolutely Shortstack."

With a nod, Maya walked over to her mom knowing full well there were a few last minute hair fluffs and wrinkles to smooth out. While Maya was with her mom, Shawn took the opportunity to forcibly turn Lucas around so they were facing each other. His hands kept a tight grip on the boy's shoulders. Shawn spoke quietly so the girls couldn't hear.

"I was a high school kid once."

"I would assume so Sir."

"I know."

"Know what Sir?"

"Just be aware I know. I will find out. I will hurt you."

Emphasizing the point Shawn gave Lucas' shoulders one last strong squeeze.

"I understand Sir."

"Good."

Maya grabbed Lucas' hand allowing him to finally escape Shawn's grasp and began to lead him out of the apartment. Shawn wrapped his arm around Katy's shoulder pulling her into him tightly as they waved goodbye to the young couple. Once the door was closed Lucas walked a few more feet before stopping, forcing Maya to stop as well.

"Everything okay Huckleberry?"

"Yea I just need to do something real fast."

Before Maya responded, Lucas turned to her. In an instant one arm was wrapped around her waist pulling her toward him. Her breath caught in her throat as his other hand brushed some of the blonde wisps behind her ear and landed at the base of her neck. Tilting her head back slightly his lips crashed against hers. As the kiss deepened he lifted her up with his arm and took a few steps back pinning her against the wall. A low moan escaped Lucas' lips as they parted. Maya' fingers entangled themselves in his hair as her legs started to lift up to wrap themselves around his waist. His hand around her waist moved down helping to steady her as her ankles linked together. Maya moaned softly as Lucas' lips moved from her lips to kiss her lightly on the corner of her mouth, her chin, and moving along her jawline before finding their way to her neck. A nearby door opened and they quickly tried to detangled themselves. Lucas lowered Maya down as she detached her legs from his waist. Stepping apart they watched each other attempt to catch their breaths. Cheeks were flushed, lips red, and their clothes looked completely disheveled. Biting her bottom lip Maya smirked.

"Real fast?"

"Well we do have someplace to be, can't get too carried away."

"Next time."

Lucas' eyes widened at the comment and the devilish smirk on Maya's face. The smirk turned into a deceivingly sweet smile. Instead of responding she just took the stunned unmoving Lucas by the hand and started dragging him along. As they walked she straightened up his shirt, sport coat, and her own dress.

"We do have to hurry. Riley will kill us if we are late meeting her and Charlie."

"Okay…but when is this next time?"


	15. Blowout

**Fingers crossed y'all like this chapter. I might have a little too much fun writing these types of explosions. It's kinda cut in half because the next chapter is going to be a direct following for this chapter but I was planning on this event taking some extra time to tell so...enjoy :)**

 _ **December**_

Crawling through the bay window, Maya made as much noise as possible as she closed the window. It had the desired effect, within seconds Riley was darting through the door. The best friends sad next to each other in silence. Riley knew this mode, Maya had something she desperately needed to talk about but wasn't ready. So they would sit, until one of them cracked. It used to only be Riley, but times were changing, Maya was starting to crack first every now and again.

"He's going to Texas."

And this would be the one those times. Riley turned so she could face her best friend directly. It was the first time she could really look her best friend over since her arrival. Maya's face was flustered, her hands jittered, and it was as if her body emanated uneasiness.

"Elaborate Peaches."

"Lucas, he's going to Texas for winter break."

Riley nodded slowly; she wasn't exactly certain why that statement required this type of reaction from her best friend. He spent winter break in Texas every year since he had moved to New York. It didn't seem like it should have been that big of a deal.

"Right and what about it?"

With wide eyes, Maya stood up quickly. In a flash she turned to face Riley. Her face flushed red with anger.

"You _knew_? He told you but he didn't even bother to mention it to me. His girlfriend?"

"No, I just assumed."

"Why would you assume that?"

"Because it's what he did last year and the year before."

"Oh."

The anger dissipated as quickly as it arrived. Slumping back down, Maya sat almost defeated. It made sense. He never got to go back to visit unless it was summer or winter break. Not since his dad stopped letting him visit on weekends. She should have known of course.

"Are you okay Maya?"

Her head shook slowly.

"He didn't say anything. Not a word about going to Texas over break. He just absently mentioned he needed to pack for Texas and that was it. The conversation continued and…nothing. Not another mention or anything."

Riley grabbed Maya's hands in her own and held them in her lap.

"Did you talk to him?"

With a scoff Maya pulled her hands away from her best friend. It was the right thing to do, actually talk to him. But part of Maya wasn't completely certain why she was so angry and frustrated with Lucas. Why was it such a big deal that he would be going to Texas over winter break? He was never gone longer than a week and it wouldn't even be for another week until he left. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a big deal at all.

"No, of course I didn't."

"Peaches."

"Riles?"

"Why are you here?"

"Because my boyfriend is a jerk and I need my best friend's support."

The comment came out as more of a question than a definite answer.

"Why didn't you talk to Lucas about the trip?"

"Because he should have been the one to bring it up."

"Why didn't you after he didn't?"

There was a long pause before Maya responded. Looking up at her friend, there was a moment of annoyance on Maya's face. Mainly because her best friend was being far too logical and all she had wanted to do was yell about her stupid jerk of a boyfriend. She was not supposed to realize something completely and utterly different. Taking a deep breath she answered, ashamed of the real reason.

"Because I'm scared to know why he didn't bother mentioning it."

With a sad smile, Riley padded her best friend's leg lightly. It was always hard for Maya to let new people into her life. That statement was the epitome of it. It seemed impossible to get that little voice in Maya's head to stop telling her people didn't care for her as much as they said. Even though it hadn't happened in ages, Maya was still terrified of forever being the one that gets left.

"You need to go talk to him."

"He should talk to me."

"Peaches."

"I **know** , I just…"

"I know."

Returning Riley's sad smile Maya got up. She should have expected this from her best friend. High school had changed Riley in the best of ways. Riley will never be anything other than the bubbly smiling girl that's she's always been. She was more now though. Those moments of honest wisdom were suddenly far more apparent to everyone. It was a great thing and yet at this moment it made Maya feel even worse about herself. At this moment, Maya didn't feel like she's grown at all. With a wave and a nod Maya crawled back out of the bay window. She knew exactly where she needed to go, but she really didn't want to.

* * *

A loud knock resonated throughout the apartment. Lucas wasn't expecting anyone and his mom wasn't due back from work for a few more hours. Even still the only reason she'd knock was if she lost her keys and that was on the unlikely side of things. Glancing through the peephole, he couldn't see a single person. As he tried to look around he finally noticed a bit of blonde at the bottom of the view. So that's who it was. Grinning he pulled open the door. Instead of getting a warm hello, Lucas was met with a very angry Maya as she shoved her way into the apartment, nearly knocking him over.

"You didn't tell me you were going to Texas."

The anger Maya had when she first entered Riley's room had returned Mainly because it was the emotion Maya was most comfortable to her. It was the one she understood best. It was the one that made it easier to ignore any other emotions that she might have been feeling. As Maya stomped into the living room, Lucas regained he stance and closed the door slowly. His eyebrow rose as she turned around to face him. One thing was undeniably clear though Maya was beyond angry.

"What do you mean?"

The words came out slowly and cautiously. Even after 10 months together, they hadn't ever really fought. Though to be honest, Lucas always thought it was because Maya tended to keep people just far enough away to protect herself. Even if it was frustrating at times, he could see her walls breaking away slowly, and that was for the time being enough. But this, it would seem their first real fight was about to begin.

"You weren't even going to tell me about Texas were you?"

The confusion grew on Lucas' face as he took a step toward the blonde girl in front of him. His eyes widened when she took a step back in response. Maya never backed down from anything and here she was backing away from him. The motion caught him off guard to the point of forgetting what he wanted to say.

"That's not…"

"You were just gonna go without saying anything weren't you? Just leave."

"What are you talking about Maya? You know I wouldn't do that."

"But you did!"

Lucas opened his mouth a few times trying to think of something to say. Anything at all. And yet nothing came to mind. Nothing in the past few minutes made any sense. Part of Lucas thought this had to be some big joke. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. He had a plan and now it was completely unraveling. He was at a complete loss. Closing his mouth he just stared at Maya as she started pacing. As she paced she'd stop for a moment point accusingly at him, open her mouth to speak, shake her head, close her mouth and starting pacing again and repeat the whole thing. Lucas finally walked up to Maya grabbing her shoulders forcing her to stop moving.

"Maya it's not like that at all."

Squirming Maya attempted to get away from Lucas' grasp and he let her. This time she didn't take a step away. Standing so close he was able to finally get a good look at her face. Maya's eyes were red with anger and yet there was something else there, something he wasn't certain he'd seen there before. Anger was one thing, but that other look, it make him ache and he wasn't certain why.

"You were going to go to Texas without saying a single word to me. You were just going to leave and it never even occurred to you to say something to me."

The words came out a little too direct. The emotional explosion was almost easier to deal with. This was a bit harder to swallow. It was too emotionless.

"That's not what happened."

"Then what did"

"It's just…I was just…."

This was horrible. This wasn't at all how it was supposed to happen. He wanted to explain, but he was having difficulty figuring out where to start. As his mouth opened though Maya was quick to interrupt.

"You just what? Figured it didn't matter. Why bother telling your girlfriend you're leaving the state. Do I really mean that little to you."

"What?! How could you say that?"

"Well it must be true. I mean what else could have been going through your head? I must just mean nothing to you at all."

Maya turned away; she couldn't even look at Lucas. She suddenly felt so stupid. It had been a great 10 months but she was stupid to think it was something that would last. Really what had she been thinking, that Lucas actually cared. That's not how the world worked for her. People left because she just wasn't that important.

"Don't you dare say that Maya."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because you know how much you mean to me."

"Oh yea so much that I don't even cross your mind."

What started out as bewilderment was quickly turning into annoyance, and anger. The surprise was clearly a bad idea; or rather letting the whole packing thing accidentally sip was just plain stupid. He had hoped she hadn't noticed it, he was clearly wrong. She wasn't even giving him the chance to explain and now she was accusing him of not caring for her. It just wasn't fair. And now they were just shouting at each other.

"You don't get to say that. You're pretty much the only thing that's ever on my mind."

"Oh please Ranger Rick that's a lie. You know, I know so just freakin' admit it already."

"Admit what exactly Maya? That I was planning on surprising you with a trip to Texas with me? That spent weeks and weeks begging my mom and dad to let me bring the girl I love to see where I grew up? That I spend even longer begging your mom to let you come with me. That I had this whole surprise plan to tell you about. Is that what I'm supposed to admit? Don't you dare say you don't mean something to me. You mean everything to me Maya."

He was practically screaming. It all came out all as one giant blur and it was taking him twice as long to process through what he had said. That's not how he wanted to tell her about the surprise trip. He had the whole thing planned out, there was a dinner planned and some cheesy presentation. It was going to be great, and instead he just shouted it out to her.

"You…"

"I what Maya? I'm an asshole for lying to you? I don't know what you want. I clearly screwed up. I'm sure I'm just a horrible person."

"No, you said…"

It took a moment, but Lucas finally realized Maya wasn't angry. In fact she just looked stunned. Her mouth wouldn't seem to close. Lucas' own anger dissipated instantly as he looked at her. Now the confusion had returned. What had he said? Reciting everything over again in his mind Lucas tried to figure out what he had said that would make Maya just standing there with her mouth gaping open. He said he loved her. Suddenly Lucas was standing there just as stunned as Maya was. That definitely wasn't how he was supposed to tell her that either. For months he knew, but he wasn't sure how she was going to react. He was terrified to say it aloud because he had no idea what was running through her mind. Lucas nodded slowly.

"I did."

"You did."

"I do."

"You…"

"I love you Maya Hart."


	16. Realization

**Hope y'all like this chapter. Like I said, this follows directly after the previous chapter. Enjoy :)**

Wide eyes Maya just started at Lucas. He just said he loved her. First he let it slip then he just said it. No mumbles no hesitation. He just said he loved her. Her mind was screaming but she had no idea what it was saying. Her heart started to beat quickly, soon it was as if it was going to bust right out of her chest. Her breath quickened and suddenly there was one clear thought in her head. _Run_. Without saying a single thing she bolted toward the front door of Lucas' apartment and ran out.

"Maya! Wait!"

She didn't turn back, she just ran, out of the apartment, down the halls, and straight out the building door. After the clarity of that one action her entire mind went blank. Maya had no idea where she was going all she knew was that her feet had no intention of stopping. She didn't stop until she was nearly running into a different front door. Blinking a few times, she looked up at the Matthew's door. It made sense running to this place. Her hand hovered in front of the door waiting to knock, but she wasn't certain if she should. Riley was the person Maya always went to for everything but she wasn't sure what she needed right now. Or if Riley was the one that could help her.

Finally she knocked. Maybe her best friend couldn't help, but at least it was someone. Topanga opened the door and eyed the young blonde questionably. Something about Maya knocking was always so ominous. There was something completely off whenever she didn't simply walk right in. Maya stood at the threshold, her head down. Even as the door opened she couldn't get herself to look up.

"What's wrong sweetheart?"

"Lucas said he loved me."

Why she just let it out she didn't know, but it simply slipped. Slowly her head lifted and her eyes meet Topanga's. Instinct kicked in and within an instant Topanga had the small girl wrapped tightly in her arms. At the exclamation, Topanga thought it was supposed to be a good thing. And for the briefest of moments she was so happy that her second daughter had found someone that loved her. There was no doubt in Topanga's mind that this amazing young woman deserved to be happy. That was until Topanga saw that look in Maya's eyes. It was terror and self-doubt. Carefully she guided Maya to the couch and they sat down.

"Alright sweetheart, that's quite a big statement to process."

"I'm not…"

Maya leaned her head on Topanga's shoulder as her words fell short. She had no idea what she was thinking. She had spent so much time not saying that word around Lucas. Right now she had no idea why she always did that, and yet that tiny voice in the back of her mind was practically screaming at her.

"You know you can tell me anything you want Maya. I'll always be here for you."

"Why is it that I can believe you but not Lucas?"

A small smile formed on Topanga's face. Now it was starting to come into focus, what was really going on with Maya. Leaning over, she placed a light kiss on the top of the girl's head and gave Maya a tight squeeze.

"Because, family's different. You will always be a part of this family and you know that. You can't get rid of us even if at times you might want to. Then there are people like Lucas or Cory."

The mention of Mr. Matthews Maya lifted her head to look at Topanga.

"What do you mean?"

There was a short pause as Topanga pulled together her thoughts. It wasn't easy to talk about. Even after all these years. After all, they were Cory and Topanga. Everyone knew that. Together forever, destined for one another. In the grand scheme of things that was true, it just wasn't that always the case though. Part of Topanga would always kick herself for the times she almost ruined the best thing in her life.

"You remember when we opened the time capsule? The letter I put in there."

Nodding slowly, Maya sat up straight. Pulling herself away from Topanaga, Maya wanted to be sure she could see the woman in front of her clearly. The small smile still graced her face as Topanga pulled her hands together in her lap.

"I told you that it was because unlike Cory, I didn't see what he saw. That we would be together forever. I just didn't have the faith in us that he did. And while that was true when I put that letter in the capsule, that wasn't the last time I thought it. Do you know how many times Cory and I broke up?"

"Once because of that Lauren girl right?"

"Eight."

Maya's eyes widened and Topanga couldn't even help herself as she laughed at the girl's shocked face. To be honest, even she couldn't believe it had been that many times. She just shrugged.

"Obviously those break ups didn't last. Time and time again I just didn't trust it. That feeling. The ease and comfort I felt around Cory. I was terrified of it because I was scared I'd lose it. My parents did, one day they just fell out of love and until that moment I didn't even think that was possible."

As Topanga continued to speak, Maya fell into silence. It was nice, not having to speak. She still didn't want to say anything at all, to be honest about what was going on in her head about Lucas. Getting to sit and just listen was what she needed.

"Suddenly that prospect of being left, of realizing someone could just stop loving you, tore me up. We were engaged and I ended it. I even told Cory the reason was _because_ he loved me. Looking back now it seems so stupid, but I just didn't see it. I knew love could end and I just didn't have it in me to believe it wouldn't happen to me."

Topanga held out her arm and Maya responded by leaning into it. During the whole story she was quiet, not saying a single thing because really, what could she say. But the voices in her head were starting to be quite. As Topanga spoke, Maya got it. She knew those emotions all too well and unlike when she ran from Lucas, she was no longer feeling quite as alone.

"It's not easy you know, having the experience of knowing that love doesn't have to last. Knowing full well that people don't have to stay together. It has this horrible habit of putting doubt in your mind."

"How did you…I mean clearly things worked out for you and Mr. Matthews. What happened?"

With a smile Topanga shrugged.

"I just realized that little voice in my head didn't stop the voice in my heart. More importantly, I didn't want it to. I realized I had to do whatever it was to keep it alive. I had to make that choice myself."

Taking a deep breath, Maya finally felt comfortable enough to actually admit one thing that was running through her mind.

"I don't feel like I deserve it. I'm not…I'm not good. He shouldn't…I don't see why he would…I just don't deserve it. I'm the screw up, the trouble maker. I'm a wreck and damaged. And then there's Lucas, he's Mister Perfect. He's good and he cares and he wants to work with animals, and make people happy. And he can, he has one of the most amazing hearts in the entire world. The way he cares about his friends…it's just…what am I supposed to do knowing that? How can I let him…I mean I can't be the reason he doesn't amount to the wonderful things he's going to do."

"Maya I want you to listen to me very carefully. Never ever say you don't deserve to be loved. You are an amazing girl and you will be an amazing woman. I have never seen someone fight for theirs friends as much as you do. I trust you completely and I couldn't have asked for a better best friend to my daughter. I'm grateful every day that you're in our lives. Never question that."

Topanga pushed a strand Maya's hair behind her ear. Growing up with Shawn made it easier for Topanga to understand Maya. More importantly it made her want nothing more than to make sure this young girl never spent a moment of her life thinking she wasn't cherished. She wasn't going to let this girl go through any of the same things Shawn did, not when she and Cory were around.

"You don't have to love Lucas back if you don't. Maybe you will someday, maybe you won't. It's completely up to you, but don't be scared of it. You're not your mom and Lucas isn't your father. I don't know what will happen with you two, no one does. The only guarantee in life is if you do nothing, then nothing will happen."

"I do."

The words came out as a whisper. A smile grew on Topanga's face.

"Then maybe you should tell him."

Nodding Maya stood up. Taking a deep breath she headed out of the Matthew's place. She was utterly terrified but it was starting to seem like that was the point. As the front door closed Cory walked out from the hall way and over to his wife. As she stood he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"So how much of that did you hear?"

"Oh definitely all of it. I'm a little disappointed you didn't use me line."

"Which one?"

"Oooo good point, I had so many good ones. The only thing that made sense to me was you…If every marriage failed except one I guarantee you that one would be ours…"

Before Cory could get another line out Topanga silenced him with a kiss.

* * *

Lucas wasn't home, no one was. Maya doubted she had been gone that long and yet his place was completely empty. Part of her wanted to wait until he came back, but she wasn't sure when that would be and she was worried his mother might arrive before he did. Slowly she made her way back to her place. She had screwed up. She ran and it was suddenly so obviously the worst decision she had ever made in her life. Entering her apartment Maya didn't bother to acknowledge her mom who was saying something but nothing was actually be processed by her brain.

Closing the door to her room, Maya slumped back against the door. Talking to Topanga had turned out to be what she needed. The reassurance, knowing that you could fight that doubt in the back of your mind. Maya knew for what seemed like forever that she loved Lucas, it was always there. But after he said it, every doubt in her mind came rushing to the forefront. She could love him no problem, but the idea of Lucas loving her that was what seemed so unimaginable. And now she screwed everything up.

"Maya."

Her head jolted up quickly at the sound of his voice. Her eyes found him in an instant as he started to stand up from her bed. Lucas shoved his hands in his front pocket as if making himself as small and unintimidating as possible.

"Lucas what are you doing here?"

"Didn't your mom tell you?"

Maya shook her head. So apparently that's what her mom was saying as she walked across the living room.

"I just wanted to apologize for the way I said that. If you don't feel the same it's okay. I mean I understand. I don't want you to say that unless you mean it. And if you don't then it's okay, I'm okay with that. I just…"

Biting his lip Lucas tried to remember everything else he had planned on saying. He had an entire speech planned out. The moment she ran off, he knew he had scared her away. His anger got the best of him in the worst possible way, and instead of telling Maya he loved her in some amazing way he just shouted at her. He had been so careful over the months not to say it, to wait until she said it first. Maya was closed off enough as it was, he didn't want to give her any reason to close off even more. Blurting out an I Love You seemed like a likely way for her to close off. But now that she was standing there in front of him everything he had been planning on saying since the moment he arrived here vanished. Maya took a step toward him and the few words he had left vanished as well.

"I'm sorry I ran off like that. I shouldn't have. I was…"

"You don't have to explain."

"But there is something I need to say."

Silence filled the roomed. That tiny voice in the back of Maya's mind started screaming at her again. Saying things like this stupid, even if he said it now Lucas didn't actually mean it. She wasn't worth his time of day and eventually he would realize that and just leave. It's what people did anyways. But in addition to that little voice, Maya couldn't get the look on Lucas' face out of her head either. The way he stood there, his eyes wide and worried. There was a spark of terror in them on what she was about to say, but even with that there was something else. The corner of his lip was turned up slightly and it was as if hope just emanated off of him. His blue eyes were locked on hers as if trying to read her mind, preparing himself for what she might say but praying that it would be what he hoped. Just staring at him made Maya smile, his hope was contagious. How could she possibly do something that made that feeling go away?

"I love you Lucas."

In an instant Lucas was standing in front of Maya, his arms wrapped around her and he lifted her up with easy. Before she could say another word his lips descended upon hers. Maya wrapped her arms around Lucas' neck as he spun her around. Pulling apart he set her back down but didn't release his arms. He had every intent of keeping her here in his arms for as long as humanly possible.

"Does that mean you'll join me in Texas for a week?"

"Do I have to wear a gallon hat?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Go to a rodeo?"

"Absolutely."

"Will I be required to ride a bull?"

"I'll start you off with a sheep."

"If that's the case…sounds perfect to me Cowboy."


	17. Heartbreak

**...I'm still alive I swear...**

 **February**

For the second time in a row Riley ran from the Valentine's Day dance. Glancing at Lucas, a sad frown on her face, Maya waited until he gave her a nod of understanding before she ran after her best friend. The day had started out great. The two girls got ready together, even though homecoming had been the quintessential big dance for freshmen, this was the dance where they did everything. After all, this was the first dance they both had boyfriends. They pampered themselves all day: hair, nails, and makeup all professionally done. The boys picked them up at Riley's and they went to dinner at a nice restaurant before the dance. Everything was primed for an amazing dance. That was until Charlie broke up with Riley…at the dance.

Maya didn't see what happened; she and Lucas were in their own little world, until their closest friend rushed passed them. Wide eyes, Maya watched as tears ran down her friend's face as she moved at quickly as possible. Without context, Maya's head swirled around to find what could cause that type of reaction from her best friend. Finally her eyes landed on Charlie; there was a sad look on his face.

"Riley I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it like that…."

Charlie shouting through the crowed was enough to make what happened clear to Maya. After a glance with Lucas and his nod, Maya went into best friend mode. Heels clicked as she ran to catch up with Riley. Once she caught up with her best friend, Maya placed a light hand on Riley's arm. Riley running stopped, but she continued to make her way out of the school. In silence the girls made their way back to the Matthews' place. Entering their home, Cory and Topanga sat up straight, the dance had only been going on for an hour and it was far too early for the girls to be home. Riley silently made her way to her room, while Maya closed the front door. Giving the adults a small shrug, Maya made her way to Riley's room.

As she stood at the threshold, Maya stared at her best friend who was sprawled face down on her bed into a pillow. The sound of Riley's tears were drowned out thanks to the pillow, which was a slightly welcome to Maya. If there was someone she didn't want to see crying it was Riley. Just hearing her best friend cry was enough to make Maya break down herself but now wasn't the time for that. Maya had more important things to do. Walking over to the bed Maya sat down on the edge, her hand rested first on her best friend's shoulder before she began to slowly rub Riley's back.

"Do you want to talk about it Peaches?"

" _No_."

The pillow muffled Riley's response, but it was clear enough to Maya.

"Do you want me to talk?"

" _No_."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"NO."

"Then I'll sit here until you need anything else."

An hour passed as Riley continued to cry into her pillow. The entire time Maya continued to rub her best friends back but said nothing at all. Twice Riley's parents walked to the door to check in on the girls. Before they were able to say anything though, Maya shook her head and placed a finger to her lips. Despite Cory and Topanaga's worry, Maya was more than capable of taking care of their little girl. If anyone could help Riley it would always be Maya. Slowly the tears turned into sniffles and then silence. Riley turned slowly on her side facing out to Maya.

"Charlie broke up with me."

There was a long silence before she continued.

"At the Valentine's Dance."

Slowly Riley sat up and leaned her head on Maya's shoulder. As Riley pulled up her legs and cuddled next to her best friend, Maya wrapped her arm around Riley's shoulder.

"Want me to punch him?"

"Yes."

Maya's eyes widened. There was a far too long of a pause before Riley spoke again.

"No. Not really. It's just…why?"

"I don't know Peaches. Charlie is a horrible person. He's a dick and he doesn't deserve someone as amazing as you."

"But I wanted him. Why doesn't he want me?"

"What happened?"

Maya spoke softly. It wasn't as if she had any piece of the story in regards to the break up. As much as she wanted to give any words of encouragement, she needed information before she could say a single thing. No part of Maya wanted to push Riley to the point of cracking again, but without knowing what actually happened, how could she help? Riley took a deep break and slowly began speaking.

 _Walking into the dance hand in hand, Riley turned her head to stare at her boyfriend. Charlie Garner. Sure they went to Homecoming together, but it wasn't until December that they actually started to date. Dinner had been great, romantic with candles and soft lighting. Maya and Lucas spent most of the night staring at each other, smirks on their faces flushed checks hidden under the surface. Despite the location, despite their conversations, something seemed off with Charlie. His smile never reached his eyes. As they entered the dance, it was all Riley could think about._

 _Riley's hand took Charlie's and she lead him into the crowd of students already dancing. As they danced, she tried to push the worry out of her mind. In the crowd she found Farkle dancing with Smackle, they were spastic and happy and the sight put a smile on her face. Glancing up quickly at Charlie, Riley started for a moment, never once did he glance down at her, instead he just start out into the crowd. Charlie's head was somewhere else and the longer the time passed the less he was attempting to hide it._

 _With her eyes back on the crowd, Riley found Lucas and Maya. They stood close together, his arms around her waist, her arms around his neck. They swayed as if they were dancing to a slow song despite it being nothing of the sort. Their faces were close, lips nearly touching, but they were talking, their lips pulled into smirks. Riley stepped closer to Charlie, grabbing both of his hands in hers she pulled them around her waist, then wrapped her own arms around his neck. The action finally made Charlie look down at her._

 _"Kinda hard to dance like this don't you think?"_

 _"I don't think so at all."_

 _Riley smiled up at Charlie. The smile grew as his hands rose from her waist and appeared to be moving toward her face. Riley's smile fell the instead his hands just grabbed hers and pulled them away from his neck. Once Charlie released her arms they fell down to her side and Riley took a step back._

 _"What's wrong Charlie?"_

 _"Nothing Riley."_

 _"We both know that's a lie. You've been weird all night."_

 _"We can talk about it tomorrow. Let's just….get through tonight."_

 _"Get through? It's the Valentine's Dance. I don't want to just get through it."_

 _"We'll talk about it tomorrow."_

 _"About what Charlie?"_

 _Around them the dance continued on. No one seemed to notice the couple that was just standing still in the middle of the chaos. Charlie scratched the back of his neck as he scanned the gym. Riley half expected him to be looking for the nearest exit route._

 _"It's not important tonight."_

 _"But it'll be important later?"_

 _"Riley please…"_

 _"Just tell me what's going on so we can figure it out together."_

 _"No, not tonight."_

 _"Just tell me Charlie!"_

 _"Stop asking Riley."_

 _"Charlie!"_

 _"Riley no!"_

 _The words were getting louder but still no one seemed to notice. Even with everyone around them, they were in their own little world. A little world that Riley wasn't so sure she wanted to be in at the moment. Clearly it was a bigger deal than she had originally thought. Riley had assumed it was just something tiny like he got into another fight with his parents. Last week when that happened he wasn't too keen on telling her what happened but he did. This though, it was bigger than that. Charlie was far too eminent about not telling her, it was starting to worry Riley more than just the fact he had been acting off. What started out as a concerned conversation had quickly turned into a shouting match._

 _"Why won't you tell me what's going on with you Charlie?"_

 _"Because you don't want to hear it right now."_

 _"Of course I do Charlie! I care about you I want to hear anything you have to say."_

 _"Not tonight Riley."_

 _"Please Charlie just tell me!"_

 _"I said no."_

 _"Why not?"_

 _"Because I'm not going to be the asshole that breaks up with a girl at the freakin' Valentine's Dance!"_

 _Riley's entire body just froze. She wasn't even certain her heart was beating. Her eyes had obviously stopped working because there was only one other person in this room besides herself, Charlie. Clearly her ears weren't working, because clearly she didn't hear that right. Not to mention the entire gym had become silent. Clearly he said something else. Clearly she was losing her mind. Clearly this moment was all in her head. And clearly she was going to wake up any moment now._

 _"W…wh…what?"_

 _"Riley…"_

 _Her head shook as she took a step back from Charlie's now out reaching hand. The gym was coming back into focus. She could hear the beat of the music vibrating beneath her feet again. The crowd had returned as well. But she wasn't waking up. This was still the Valentine's Dance. Charlie was still standing in front of her, and he wasn't denying what he said. He looked a little sad almost, or was that pity? Riley wasn't exactly certain. Her own face was completely void of any expression except for her eyes. Her eyes were already starting to water no matter how hard to she tried to stop them._

 _"I'm sorry I made you the asshole that breaks up with a girl at the Valentine's Dance."_

 _There was no more hope in trying to keep the tears from falling. Once the first tear dropped, the flood gates had opened. Turning on the stop Riley just started to run. Anywhere was better than here, anywhere. As she ran Charlie tried to stop her without luck._

 _"Riley I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it like that…."_

The tears returned as Riley finished telling Maya what happened. In the past hour Riley had gotten very good at running through the entire event quickly. It was the only thing playing over and over again in her mind. Riley buried her head into her best friend's shoulder.

"It was my fault. I pushed him and he broke up with me. I shouldn't have said a single thing."

With a tight squeeze, Maya kissed the top of her best friend's head. Despite the things running through her head, Maya knew most of them she couldn't say right now. It would help to let Riley know what ever she said Charlie would have broken up with her. Even still, the majority of Maya's mind was set on the fact she needed to go find Charlie and hurt him as much as he hurt Riley. Maybe more so.

"Peaches he didn't break up with you because you pushed him. He's a just a jackass."

"No he isn't. He's Charlie. He's sweet, and sincere, and I ruined it. I just should have let it go. Why did I have to push him?"

Grabbing Riley's shoulders, Maya adjusted her best friend so they were facing each other.

"You did not ruin anything. You did nothing wrong. You're allowed to worry about your boyfriend. You're allowed to notice when something's off. You're allowed to care."

"It would be a lot easier if I didn't."

With a frown Riley leaned back again Maya's shoulder. Part of her was aware she didn't do anything tonight that truly made Charlie break up with her. But that just meant there was something else that had happened. Something she still didn't know and something she wasn't entirely certain she wanted to know. At least fixating on pushing Charlie to break up with her was a reason she could grasp onto.

"Don't ever stop caring Riley. Not for one second."

* * *

Blindly Maya reached under her pillow trying to find her phone. She could feel it vibrating under the pillow and if she could feel it, so could Riley sleeping next to her. As quickly as possible Maya pulled out the phone and saw the face of Lucas. With a quick swipe of her finger she whispered one second. Carefully she slipped out of the bed making sure not to wake Riley. After grabbing a blanket, Maya wrapped it around herself then made her way out of the bay window and sat down outside. Once she was settled she pulled the phone to her ear.

"Sorry, I just had to get outside."

"Still at Riley's?"

"Yea…."

Maya wasn't certain what more to say, without saying it all.

"How is she doing?"

"She's…I don't really know. Can't say I have all that much experience with breakups. I don't know what I'm supposed to say. I don't know how to help. I don't know if I can."

"You did exactly what you were supposed to do Maya. You were there for your best friend. I don't think there's anything else you can do."

"But it's Riley, I need to do more…I should just got find Charlie and kick his ass or something."

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. A little too long.

"Lucas what's going on?"

"….You don't need to do anything to Charlie."

"Why not?"

"Because I already did."

"Lucas!"

"After you ran after Riley I just saw him standing there so I want over to talk to him. I swear I was just going to talk to him. But once I got there he started talking about how he didn't plan on breaking up with Riley at the dance. He was going to wait until after the dance. He just kept going on and on about his plan for breaking up with Riley…so I punched him."

"LUCAS."

"Also I'm not going to be able to take you to the next dance…."

"LUCAS!"

The final exclamation had been a lot louder than expected. Inside Maya hear Riley turning in her bed. After waiting for a moment making sure Riley was still asleep, Maya took a deep breath to calm herself. In all honesty she wasn't actually mad at Lucas for what he did. Part of her was actually angry that he was the one that punched Charlie and not her.

"You really shouldn't have done that Lucas. How much trouble did you really get into?"

A few miles away Lucas shrugged. He wasn't in nearly as much trouble as he thought he'd be in when he saw Charlie drop to the ground after the punch. The instant it happened Lucas knew it had been a mistake but even with that in the back of his head, he had ever intent of doing it again. If it hadn't been for Farkle showing up, Lucas knew he would have just picked Charlie up and punching him again.

"Detention for a week and like I said, I'm not allowed to go to the next dance. My mom threatened to ground me, but then I started blabbing on and on about what Charlie just did she said detention was enough of a punishment."

"You shouldn't have punched him Huckleberry."

"Am I still a Huckleberry when I end up punching a guy?"

"You'll always be a Huckleberry, even more so because you punched a guy for breaking up with one of your closest friends."

"You know perfectly well I couldn't have let something like that go."

"I know Lucas, it's one of the reasons I love you."

"I doubt I'll ever get over you saying that."

Maya smiled. It was odd how easy it was to say she loved Lucas ever since the first time she said it. It just rolled off the tongue. Every time she said it now it just, it felt right. Pulling the blanket tighter around herself Maya was beginning to wish she wasn't sitting on this fire escape all alone. Even though the four had gone to the dance together, Maya and Lucas had plans for after the dance just the two of them.

"I'm sorry by the way."

"For what?"

"We had plans after the dance, and I just left."

"It was Riley, you have nothing to apologize. It wouldn't be you if you didn't help out your best friend. We'll see each other tomorrow…or today rather. I just want to check in on you both."

"Thanks Huckleberry. I'll see you in a couple hours then."

"Goodnight Shortstack, love you."

"Love you too Huckleberry, night."


	18. Playoffs

**To the guest that mentioned freshman don't have plans after a school dance, I had plans. We only went and got ice cream at McDonalds, but still it was a plan. For Lucas and Maya their plan was just going to the coffee shop across the street from Maya's apartment. The Valentine's Dance is exactly a year since Riley found out and they finally admitted they wanted to be something. Their plan was just to spend some time together alone for a bit since they were expecting to be with Riley and Charlie for most of the dance.**

 **Hope you guys are still enjoying the stories. And please don't hate me...I do have a plan ;)**

 **March**

The gym had been filled with chatting students for what seemed like ages, but Maya remained silent. Next to her Riley was going on and on about the stats of the team they were just about to play against. It was a big deal John Quincy Adams High School had actually made it to the basketball finals. Which meant the entire school was going to be at this game making it nearly impossible for Maya to not go. No matter what her reason was for wanting to be anywhere but here.

Both teams were warming up and it took everything in Maya's power not to search him out. Freshman weren't supposed to play on the Varsity team, but then again freshmen weren't supposed to play on JV either. Lucas had started the season on JV and when playoffs started he was one of the JV players pulled up. There was no avoiding Lucas during school, not with their classes together, but this was an option. This was a chance to not see him, and yet here she was. Three weeks was not nearly enough time to feel ready to face Lucas outside of forced interactions.

"Can you believe it? First time in ten years and we're here to see it."

"Yup it'll be a great game."

"Come on Maya show a little excitement! This is supposed to be fun. Farkle and Zay are gonna be joining us and we'll cheer and eat snacks and it'll be great!"

"You know exactly why I'm not all excited."

Riley leaned her head against Maya's shoulder. The past three weeks had been tough. Even though they two told each other everything, even Riley didn't know the full story about what happened with Maya and Lucas. All she did know was that something happened and they weren't together anymore. The group had a new habit of hanging out separately since then. When Maya was out working on her art or Lucas was at practice the whole group would hang out, but school had gotten complicated. Typically Lucas and Maya spent lunch alone, leaving Riley, Farkle, and Zay to spend time together. Maya and Lucas wouldn't say anything about what happened despite all the prying. Riley hoped a fun night out would make things a little bit better.

"I'm sorry Peaches. Maybe if you told me what happened I could help? If not, that's why we're sitting up here, you can barely see the players' faces, so we can just enjoy the game."

"Like I've said, things happen. I just need a bit more time Riles. I'm sorry; I'll try harder to have some fun."

Despite what Riley said, Maya knew she'd be able to notice Lucas in a second. It was the reason she was watching the countdown clock for the start of the game instead of the players. She had 20 minutes until the game started and at that point she would have to change her tactics. Despite the sane part of her mind that told her not to look, Maya did glance over at the team. Everyone was lined up, taking practice shots. Her eyes roamed through the entire team, she didn't know all of their names, since they were the Varsity team, but a few of the names slipped through from watching Lucas throughout the past season. The one person she didn't want to see though wasn't there. Her mouth started speaking before her brain could stop her.

"Lucas isn't out there."

"I thought you didn't want to see him?"

"I don't…but he's not there. He's always the first person out for warmups."

Riley just shrugged.

"I'm sure he's just somewhere."

Maya shook her head. There was no way Lucas wasn't there for warmups unless something was wrong. Or maybe he wasn't even playing. Which couldn't be true. Lucas had been too excited about the game, everyone would have noticed if he suddenly wasn't going to be on the player roaster. He should be there. The more Maya though about it, the more worried she was beginning to get.

"Something's wrong Riley."

"I thought you didn't care Maya."

"We all know that's not true. It's just…can you just go find him? You know I can't."

Just as Riley stood up to go search for Lucas, Zay came barreling up the bleachers. Stopping in front of the girls he held up a finger as he caught his breath. Standing up straight he put his hands on his hips.

"So our little guy seems to be having a bit of a crises.

"What are you talking about?"

"Full blown panic attack actually."

As Zay and Riley spoke, Maya started straight, listening but not participating.

"Anything we can do?"

"Farkle and I have been trying for what seems like forever to talk some sense into him, but nothing's working. Now he's just being quite. Just staring at his locker like it's got some special power over him with all the answers. We're kinda at a loss now. So yea I hope so."

The conversation between Zay and Riley fell silent to Maya's ears. Lucas didn't get freaked out, not like this. It just wasn't who he was. There were very few times when Lucas just sat and stared. The only times Maya had ever seen it was the result of a conversation with his dad. Silently Maya stood up; she was on autopilot at this point. Riley and Zay continued to talk about a plan and Maya just made her way to the locker room. Walking out of the gym Maya saw Farkle leaving the locker room, a small frown on his face. His latest attempted to get Lucas to move had clearly not worked. With a point of his finger, Farkle left Maya to continue her path.

With the rest of the team warming up, Maya entered the boys' locker room without notice, or caring. The room was silent, which made sense, but it made finding Lucas that much harder. Finally Maya found him sitting on a bench in the last row of the room. Silently she took a seat next to him. If it had been three weeks ago, she would have laid her head on his shoulder and took his hand in hers. This time though, she let an entire foot separate them. It sucked, being this close to him and not doing any of that, but she couldn't.

"Just going to skip the big game?"

"That's the plan."

Lucas didn't turn his head or even make a single motion that acknowledged Maya's appearance. It was almost as if he always expected her to show up. A year together made it hard to accept that she wouldn't be there for him when he needed her. This was the most Lucas had spoken in nearly 15 minutes.

"Seems like a pretty good plan. Thank goodness you've never wanted to play basketball ever again."

"That's what I was thinking too."

A small chuckle escaped both of their lips. Why did things have to fall into place so easily? Ever fiber in Maya's body wanted to scoot closer to Lucas, take his hand, let him talk though what was going through his head. Tell him he was being an idiot. Kiss him good luck and then let him on his way to probably win the game for the team. It was the Lucas way. But she couldn't and it was her own fault she couldn't.

"What's wrong Huckleberry?"

"Same old same old I suppose. Clearly I'm doomed to fail on an astounding level and I'll never be able to face the school for the rest of my high school career. All three more years of it."

"You aren't going to fail."

"Says who?"

"Says everyone."

"I think that's the problem."

Finally Lucas stopped staring at his locker; instead he stared down at his lap where his hands were clasped together. He was an idiot. How could he have thought for a second that he was capable of playing a Varsity level game, let alone the finals? It was obscured. He was a freshman. Why they thought he could play on JV still didn't make any sense to him and now here he was. As he stared at his hands a new one appeared, Maya's. Her hand grasped both of his, and next to him he felt her scoot closer. Having her this close was more heart breaking that the thought of failing in front of the entire school and their entire division. And yet, it calmed him.

"You know you're amazing at this game."

"I'm decent, but I'm not at this level."

"You're amazing. They wouldn't have brought you up for the finals if you weren't."

"They just needed more bodies and some idiot thought it would be funny to add me to the actual rotation roster."

"You were added because you deserve to be here. You shouldn't doubt that."

"It's just so much easier to doubt everything though."

"I'm sorry."

Lucas shrugged. Pulling one hand out from under Maya's, he moved to grasp her hand in both of his. He was freaking out, probably for stupid reasons, but he just didn't have the faith in himself he normally did. Not after…he shook he head. Thinking about that situation wasn't going to help this situation either. Before his hand fell on hers though, he just dropped it to his side. He wasn't allowed to do that anymore.

"I get it…okay not really. But, I'm trying."

"Don't let that make you question this. You're got nothing to worry about. Everyone believes in you Huckleberry, we're all here for you."

"Even you?"

"Of course even me."

There was a small smile on Maya face as Lucas turned his head to stare at her. For a moment he leaned forward but quickly stopped short. He licked his lips as he eyes fell on hers before finally standing up. It wasn't fair being this close to her and not being able to kiss her, hold her, and tell her he loved her. This was the situation they were in though and he wasn't going to push her any more than he already had.

"Alright guess I should probably go warm up while I still have the time."

"Probably, you'll definitely fail horrible if you don't."

"Thanks so much for the confidence."

"I'm always here for that Huckleberry. Now go."

"Alright Shortstack. Don't want to miss my five minutes of game time."

"I know, five whole minutes I don't know why you're so worried about it."

"No idea."

With a smile and a deep breath Lucas finally walked out of the locker room. Once Lucas was gone Maya fell forward her head crashing against the lockers. She was an idiot, she knew that. This whole thing was her fault. Her heart skipped a beat when Lucas started leaning toward her and it dropped when he stopped. She was the reason he stopped the reason he was doubted things and she hated herself for it. Taking a deep breath Maya returned to the gym. She didn't have it in her to go back and sit with the rest of the group. Instead she just leaned against the bleachers and watched.

 _"What's going on Maya?"_

 _"it's nothing Lucas."_

 _"Well now I know you're lying Maya."_

 _Sometimes this nickname thing made it a lot harder to keep things to herself. Whenever Maya had something on her mind, she always called Lucas by his real name. It was her tell. Unfortunately it was a very obvious tell. Maya looked around the cafeteria before letting her eyes fall on Lucas. She wasn't going to be able to get away with saying nothing now._

 _"I've just been thinking."_

 _"Well that's never good."_

 _"Har har har McBoing Boing."_

 _"Sorry."_

 _For the third time in the past ten minutes one of the cheerleaders walked passed their table with a flick of her hair, smile, and a wave. Lucas returned the wave before looking back on Maya. It took everything in her power not to react, but she wasn't completely able to keep it to herself._

 _"Maya…"_

 _"No Lucas."_

 _"We've been over this…"_

 _"Not here."_

 _Maya stood up, leaving her tray on the table she walked out of the cafeteria. Despite not saying anything, she knew Lucas would follow. After making her way through the halls, she took a seat on a bench near their lockers. A few moments later Lucas sat down next to her._

 _"You've got to know I'm not interested in any of them._

 _"I know that Lucas."_

 _"Then what's going on? I don't get it."_

 _"Maybe you should be."_

 _"What the hell are you talking about?"_

 _"It's just…come on there are so many girls at this school that are interested in you. We're only 16 and we've been together for a year. No one does that."_

 _"But we do."_

 _"Maybe we should just…see what happens."_

 _"Is there someone else Maya? Is that what's going on here?"_

 _"No Lucas, there isn't."_

 _"Then what is this all about? I thought…I don't get it. I'm trying here, but I don't get it."_

 _"I just think we should take a break Lucas. Just to be sure."_

 _"But I am sure already Maya."_

 _"Then maybe I just need to be."_

 _Standing up Maya turned to face Lucas. There was a complete look of confusion on his face. Nothing about this moment made any sense. This moment wasn't actually happened. Maya wasn't actually asking for a break. Things had been perfect. They worked. A year had proved they worked. They were happy this didn't make sense._

 _"I'll always care about you Lucas, but I just need some time."_

Half of the gym broke into screams as bell rang. John Quincy Adams High School had just won the game, by 15 points. The student body rushed the court to congratulate the team. Streamers were shot out and balloons thrown about. The entire gym was falling into chaos. Lucas had been right, he barely played but he did great, making several assists before being rotated out. He even made a three point shot.

In the distance Maya caught his eye; a bright smile grew on Lucas' face that she gladly returned. Instinct kicked in and they began to walk toward each other. Before they were even able to make a dent in their distance a group of students rounded up Lucas and lifted him in the air. Maya continued to smile as the mob lead Lucas toward the rest of the team raised above the rest of the crowd. The cheers and chants grew louder and when Lucas could no longer see Maya's face she slipped out of the gym.

"He's still better off without me."

"You've got to know that's a lie."

Maya's head quickly turned to find the source of the voice. Of course it was Farkle. He always saw more than he really should. Within a moment his arm was wrapped around Maya's shoulder pulling her in tightly.

"You were the only one that could get through to him tonight. You two are good together, you're better together."

"He should get to see what else is out there. There're better than me."

"Not to him."

"Maybe that's what wrong with him. Always knew there had to be something."

"You're an idiot Maya."

"Aw thanks Farkle I never knew you cared so much."

"And so is Lucas for letting you get away with doing this."

"It's for the best."

"If you say so."


	19. Spring Break

**March**

Spring break was supposed to be fun. A break from school, a week off to do nothing and spend time with friends. There were three important parts of going to school for a girl like Maya, winter break, spring break, and summer. But this year, this year spring break was not as much fun as the last few years. In fact it was downright horrible. Maya sat in the back stool of Topanga's, Riley was supposed to be arriving any time now. But she wasn't here yet. Which just meant Maya was sitting alone, something she had been doing a bit too much of lately.

"If it isn't my favorite ferret."

"Uncle Josh."

Maya's response was automatic, it wasn't until Josh was right next to her that she even turned to face him. According to Riley he had been spending a lot of time at Topanga's since he started college, but Maya hadn't seen him. Quickly she gave him a once over. At first glance Josh looked exactly the same but the more Maya looked the more she couldn't help but notice the few bits that were different. His jaw seemed stronger and his cheeks more filled out. The biggest difference was the way his arms looked under his hoodie. It was odd, even though she noticed the changes; none of them meant anything to her. Once she was done looking Josh over she turned her attention forward staring at the back counter.

With her attention no longer on him, Josh watched the small blonde in front of her. At first when he saw her, he thought it would be fun. Since starting college most of the interactions he had had with Maya wer when he stopped by the Matthew's house and she was passing through. Since she started dating Lucas it was clear her interest in Josh had vanished, but as time went he found himself missing her energy. She was a force to be reckoned with and someone worth having in your life. The girl sitting in front of him now though, she wasn't the same Maya Josh knew.

"I see that the fire is out."

"What?"

"Nothin' nevermind. How have you been?"

With a shrug, Maya scooted her chair over slightly so Josh took take the open seat next to her. With a loud thud his book bag slammed onto the counter before he turned in the chair to face Maya. Something was clearly so very very off with Maya and Josh had no idea what it could be. But if she didn't want to tell him, then so be it.

"I'm okay. You?"

"Pretty decent. I'm saddened to admit college isn't nearly as much of a party as I want it to be though. I'm busy all of the time. They actually expect me to learn."

Josh grinned and waited. A few moments passed but Maya didn't seem to take the bait. She didn't even feign a smile. Slowly his grin dropped. No she wasn't okay at all.

"What's going on Maya?"

"Nothing, it's old news really. I should be over it by now."

"You know you're allowed to take as long as you want to get over anything."

"Not when you're the cause of it."

Josh's original plan of studying for his test was no longer even a lingering though in his mind. This past year he had gotten so use to the new Maya, the relaxed, happy, even bright Maya. This wasn't her. It wasn't even that she had taken a step back into old Maya either, this was new. The more Josh watched the petite girl next to him, the more he realized what was so different from she was broken.

"Even then Maya. What's going on? You can tell me."

"Lucas and I broke up."

His mouth open to speak, but Josh didn't get the chance. Instead Maya decided it was time to let everything just spill out. For the past two months she had kept all of it to herself. She wasn't about to talk to Riley about it, the last thing in the world Maya wanted to do was break up her group of friends. Opening up about the breakup seemed like the perfect way to mess everything up.

"I broke up with Lucas. I know it's for the better. He's better off without…I know it. It was the right thing to do. But it's been two months and maybe I just thought our group would fall back to the way it was before. That we could all be friends as if nothing happened at all. It was stupid of me. I can barely be in the same room with him when we aren't in class and I can't do a single thing about it because I did it. Now it's spring break and it's like everyone is hanging out in shifts. If I'm there Lucas isn't and if he's there I'm not. Which just means one of us is almost always by themselves. I was doing what's best and yet it's all more mess up than before and it's just all my fault. And everyone knows it. I did this."

Maya dropped her head down against the counter. Despite guiding it, her head still made a small noise, hitting the counter a little bit harder than she had intended. Even with how horrible this all felt, Maya truly did believe Lucas was better off without her. It was the right move. It had to be. She just didn't think through the rest of it enough. Maya hadn't realized the extent of the fall out. Taking deep breaths Maya tried to calm herself down. Saying everything out loud was taking a bit more of a toll on her than she had expected. She could feel the tears building like they always did when she spent too much time thinking about it all. A hand on her shoulder was enough to pause her thoughts. Turning her head slightly, Maya stared up at Josh. There was a frown on his face, and something else in his eyes, sympathy.

"Why do you think he's better off without you?"

"I didn't say that."

"You were going to."

Sitting up straight Maya nodded and shrugged.

"It's just…I mean it's Lucas. He has all this amazing stuff going for him. We were together for a year; no one dates someone that long at our age. Obviously we aren't each other's soulmate or anything so why keep it going? A year was long enough, too long. I've seen the way girls look at him; he can do better than me."

"Do you really think that little of yourself Maya?"

A silent shrug was all Josh got in response.

"You know you're an amazing girl right? You're strong and passionate. You have more strength in you than anyone I know and I've never seen you back down from anything. I mean come on, you snuck into a college party when you were in eighth grade just to see me. I don't know of anyone else that would have the courage to do that. Don't ever thing there's someone better than you."

"You're just saying that because you've finally realized 3 years means nothing."

"Well obviously."

Josh winked resulting in Maya smiling for the first time since he sat down. There was a truth in her statement, he didn't think three years meant as much as it once did. He had started thinking that quite some time ago, but it wasn't as if he was interested in Maya. She was still his niece's best friend, but at the same time right now didn't feel like he was talking to some young girl.

"Things will settle. They did when Riley found out about the subway and they will with this too. It'll be different, and it'll take time, but it'll happen. Just remember Maya you get to make any choice you want about your life. It's yours and you're the one that has to live it. Just make sure you're making the choices for the right reasons. Lucas was lucky to have you for a year and if that's all you want then so be it. If you want to end things then that's fine, but end it because you deserve better, not because you think someone else does."

Taking a deep breath Maya nodded. Part of her thought Josh was just saying things to be nice. After all, there was always going to be better than her. Life had taught Maya that time and time again. There was something nice though, hearing someone believe that she deserved better. It didn't happen often. As Maya opened her mouth to speak, her phone started ringing. Glancing down she saw a text from Riley, change of plans apparently. They were meeting at Riley's place, not Topanga's. Pushing herself away from the counter Maya stood up and turned to Josh.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind Uncle Josh."

"You better ferret."

With a smile Maya leaned in and gave Josh a hug. The tight squeeze stopped suddenly when the sound of breaking glass reached them. Turning over her shoulder Maya's eyes widened at the sight. Staring at them both stood Lucas a blank look in his eyes and two broken glasses at his feet. It seemed like a century had passed as Maya and Lucas just stared at each other, eyes locked. Slowly Maya turned so she was facing Lucas directly, her mouth slightly agape. There had to be something to say at this moment, she just didn't know what it was. The one thing she did know what that her stomach was uneasy and her legs were currently debating whether or not they were actually going to function as legs.

Lucas broke their eye contact first, his eye line shifted up slightly to stare at the man behind her. Lucas' entire face dropped as his continued to stare at Josh who's hand was now resting lightly on Maya's arm to steady her. Instantly she knew what Lucas was thinking, he was wrong of course. If he had heard their conversation he would know, but then again, maybe it was for the best that Lucas thought what he was thinking. Before she got the chance to decide to say something or let Lucas' mind run wild something caught her eye instead.

"Never took you for a klutz Luc."

Slowly Lucas turned his head toward a redhead walking up him, napkins already in her hand. There was a smile on her face as she reached him. The girl was familiar, from their algebra class. She was one of the girls Maya noticed always with their eyes on Lucas. Despite the fact he could still see Maya in the corner of his eye, he kept himself turned toward the redhead. His hand reached up to scratch the back of his neck.

"Well it happens sometime."

"Guess you aren't Mr. Perfect after all."

"No, I'm really not."

As Lucas spoke he glanced quickly at Maya. She still stood there; she hadn't moved a millimeter since seeing him. It was as if she was paralyzed. Sure this is what she wanted, no…not wanted, expected. But not in front of her. The redhead pulled back Lucas' attention and for a moment longer Maya just watched and it broke her. It was time for that flight response of hers, she couldn't' keep standing here just watching Lucas on his date. Grabbing her phone Maya shoved it into her back and turned to face Josh. There was an odd smile that grew on her face, the same look she always got when she was right about something, almost smug.

"Guess I was right, he found better."

"Maya..."

Shaking her head, she held up her hand. Right now she didn't need a pep talk, it wasn't going to help. More importantly at this moment, she knew anything Josh said was just going to be a lie. There wasn't anything else to be done. Taking a deep breath, Maya shoved every single emotion of hers deep down before turning on her heel and started walking to the door. Nearing Lucas and the redhead, Maya stopped and smiled up at him. If there was away to simple walk past him she would, but that just wasn't an option. Especially sense his mess was blocking the exit. Lucas stood straighter as Maya spoke.

"Impressive Mad Dog."

"Mad Dog?"

"Braking things in a public place? Yup, you're finally worthy of the game."

"Never thought I'd see the day."

"It was bound to happen eventually, statistically speaking."

"Of course."

The redhead took a step closer to Lucas, who had apparently forgotten she was even there. Her hand grasped his arm, finally pulling his attention back to her.

"Well I'll leave you two be. See after break."

With a nod Maya stepped over the mess and walked out the front door. Glancing back through the window Maya watched Lucas and the redhead for a few minutes before leaving to meet with Riley.


	20. Returning

**I've had a few different ideas running through my head since watching Texas and reading a bunch of theories online...so I'm debating making these Screen Shots a little more close together again for a bit. We'll see :) This specific one does take place really close to the last chapter.**

 **March**

Josh was a liar. Not only was he wrong about Lucas deserving someone better than Maya, he lied about things settling. Sure Maya wasn't actually giving it a chance, but still, he was wrong. It wasn't going to happen. Maya was making a great effort to avoid running into Lucas. She didn't see him once during the remainder of Spring Break. As for the first week back, she just walked in the other direction the second she saw him. It was working wonders until Lucas decided to just show up.

"Hey Maya."

A few moments passed as Maya stared down at her sketch pad. It was another free draw period in art meaning she got to roam to find the right place to draw. Since the breakup she stopped drawing in bleachers of the football field, instead she now found herself on the front steps of the school. There was no way he should have found her here. He still had weights even if the football and basketball seasons were over. This wasn't where he was supposed to be. Just hearing him say her name still made her heart flutter, but that wasn't allowed anymore. Just like the last time she spoke to him, she shoved all her emotions deep down before looking up at him. A detached smirk on her face.

"Hello Luc."

"Oh please don't call me that."

"Isn't that what the girlfriend calls you?"

"Girlfriend?"

"Yea, Bethany? The redhead from math class. The cheeeeerleaderrrrr."

Maya put a bit too much emphasis on the word cheerleader. She was still smirking, as if she was trying to tease Lucas about it. She had no idea what she had hoped from that action of hers, but all it did was make Lucas look confused. Shaking his head, Lucas took a seat next to Maya on the stairs.

"Bethany is not my girlfriend. And I hate the name Luc. It makes me cringe every time she says it."

"Oh, I figured she was since you two were on a date and all."

As they spoke Maya hand absently reached for the bracelet hidden under her long sleeved shirt. Jackets and long sleeved shirts are her go to ensemble as of the breakup, it was the easiest way to keep anyone from seeing that she still wore the bracelet. Every morning she saw it on her wrist and for some reason she just couldn't take it off, even though she knew she should.

"We weren't on a date. Not like you and Josh."

"Josh and I weren't on a date."

"The hug sure looked very datey."

"The way she touched your arm sure looked like a date."

"I could say the same thing about Josh."

"Fine so what if I was on a date with him?"

"So what if I was on a date with Bethany?"

Their voices were growing louder and their faces moved closer. This was stupid. So completely and utterly stupid. They were arguing about not dating someone else any yet, both of those last lines were enough to silence Lucas and Maya. So what if either of them were dating? That wasn't supposed to mean anything to either of them. At least that's what Maya wanted Lucas to think. This whole thing was so he'd realized he deserved better. For a moment she just stared at Lucas before turning her head back down at her sketchpad again. Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke.

"You can date whoever you want Lucas. That's kinda how the whole break up thing works."

"It wasn't a date Maya."

"It's fine. Honestly. I broke up with you. I think protocol is that you move on first."

"Really Maya, it wasn't…"

Holding up her hand to silence him, Maya shook her head. She didn't want to hear a single thing about Lucas and all of his new relationships that were bound to happen. Being this close to him was making that undeniably clear. It was going to take more than just shoving her emotions aside if she was going to make it through being near him.

"I don't need to hear the details Lucas. Date whoever you want, you're more than allowed."

"Just like you are?"

"What?"

Curiosity caught her attention drawing her back to staring at Lucas. He was beginning to look angry. Not just frustrated like he had been earlier when they were awkwardly arguing. Lucas didn't have all the information that Maya did. He didn't know why she broke up with him, not really. All he knew was that she broke up with him and now he saw her with Josh. She had said maybe she wanted to be sure that there wasn't anyone else out there, it's just, Lucas had that twinge of hope she wouldn't. Now though, maybe he had been wrong, maybe she really did just want to be with someone else, someone other than him. Lucas couldn't decide if he was angry for not seeing it before or for the fact she just didn't admit it to begin with.

"You can date whoever you want now too. Was that really what this was all about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Josh."

"What?"

"You broke up with me because you want to be with Josh. That's gotta be it."

"Lucas…"

It was Lucas' turned to raise his hand to silence Maya. He had been trying so hard to figure it all out. To give Maya space, hoping that would mean she would realize they were better together. After two months though, he really had no idea what was going on. Until he saw her last week with Josh. Sure he had been with Bethany, but that really wasn't a date, despite how much she tried to make it into one. They had English together and were supposed to be working on an assignment together, something Lucas had put off until the last possible moment, spring break. Seeing Maya at Topanga's with Josh though, his mind had been running for ages after seeing that. It was all falling into place.

"Look, I probably should have seen it coming. You forget I was there when you told him you were in it for the long game. I just figured…when we…it doesn't matter. You're allowed to date whoever you want too. That was your point. I've been racking my brain ever since that day Maya. I didn't get it. Now I guess I do."

"It's not…"

"Please don't say it. Whatever it is. It's just gonna suck no matter what you say."

The angry vanished instantly, with a sad smile on his face Lucas looked at Maya for a few moments before shrugging. He didn't know what he thought was going to happen when he saw Maya heading toward the front of the school and he decided to follow. This definitely wasn't it, but they had needed to talk. That was the driving force in Lucas' decision. Maybe he just should have ignored it. With his elbows on the stair behind him, Lucas leaned back, staring out into the New York Street.

"Scratch that, I do want to know. Maybe it'll help me move on."

"I wasn't on a date with Josh. I was supposed to meet Riley and I ran into Josh instead. I don't want to date him."

"Then why Maya? I get it, we're over, but come on, after a year you owe me the truth. I deserve it."

"That's the point."

"What is?"

"That you deserve better. Better than me."

Lucas sat up straight quickly, he head turning to the side as Maya whispered her response. She wasn't looking at him, or at her sketchpad. Instead she was just staring off to the side, making a very clear effort not to look at Lucas. It hadn't been her intent to say that, but she didn't want him to go on thinking she ended things just to be with Josh. He was right, she owed him the truth.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh come on Lucas, everyone can see it. Bethany and all those other girls. They see it, I see, I don't know how you don't."

"See what Maya?"

"That you're better than me. You're Mr. Perfect Lucas and I'm just broken, I break things. I'm not gonna be the cause of breaking Mr. Perfect."

"Mr. Perfect? That's going to be stuck with me for the rest of my life isn't it? God, did no one actually get what that was about?"

Of all the things Maya said, that wasn't not what she thought he would focus on. Her eyes landed on him, his head rested in his hands. Taking a few long deep breaths Lucas ran his fingers through his hair before pulling his head back facing up toward the sky.

"I'm not Mr. Perfect, my flaw wasn't being Mr. Perfect. It's trying to be Mr. Perfect when that's not who I am. I spent so much time since I arrived in New York trying to be Mr. Perfect because everyone already thought I was. I don't want to be Mr. Perfect!"

Turning to look at Maya, Lucas grabbed her hand in his.

"And you're not broken Maya. You don't break things. You're the only person that didn't see me as Mr. Perfect, and it's exactly what I needed that. You helped me."

Dropping Maya's hand, Lucas turned back to his leaning position on the stairs. His head shook, but there was a smile on his face for what felt like the first time in two months. If those were her reasons for breaking up with him, maybe the only reasons, then he still had a chance.

"You're just saying that, I'm not…good."

"Will you stop saying crap like that Maya?"

"But it's true. Everyone knows it, everyone sees it. You deserve better than me."

"But I _want_ you Maya. I love _you_."

"Don't say that."

Maya stood up and kept her back to Lucas. She probably should have run away when Lucas came outside behind her. Just got up and left no matter how awkward it was. Hearing him though, say he loved her, it was messing with her resolve. Turning around Maya stared down at Lucas. He looked so…pleased and it was starting to annoy the hell out of her. There was an ease about him now as he just leaned against the stairs, so utterly carefree almost. Unlike Maya who's entire head was running around in circles trying to find a way to keep from just looking at him.

"But it's true. I'm allowed to say true things."

"Well I don't want to hear it."

"Why not? Why don't you want to hear me say I love you?"

Slowly Lucas stood up and took a few steps toward Maya then a step down so his face could be more level with her. Why did he have to stand so close? And why did he have to have that smirk on his face.

"Because it doesn't matter to me anymore."

Lucas took another step toward Maya. Her breath caught in her chest.

"Is that really true Maya?"

She nodded slowly. Despite her best efforts she couldn't stop herself from glancing down at Lucas' lips as he took another step toward her. Lucas felt like an idiot for not putting it together earlier. For honestly believing at times Maya didn't actually want to be with him. He had given her space, hoping that it would help. Right now thought it was clear, space was not what Maya needed, far from it. Lucas licked his lips as he took another step, this time she took a step back herself, right into the brick wall of the school.

"Just tell me you don't love me and I'll never mention it again."

"I don't."

"Don't what Shortstack?"

Testing the waters, Lucas put one hand on Maya's waist. She didn't flinch or make a motion to get out away, instead she just slowly glanced down at his hand before looking back up at Lucas. After placing his other hand on her waist, he took one final step.

"Love you."

A smirk grew on Lucas' face. Letting go of her waist for a moment, he lifted his hand and tucked a strand of Maya's hair back behind her ear.

"Try saying that all together now."

Maya nodded slowly. Yes she should have run, because there was no way she could actually put those words together. Not when he was standing this close. Not with his hand now resting on her cheek. Her breath was caught in her chest and her heart had decided to skip a few beat just staring at Lucas. She was supposed to say something. Something that would make him realize she didn't want this anymore. Something that would make him move on.

"This is the part where you say you don't love me."

"I'm aware."

The hand on Maya's check lightly grazed her skin as it moved down to gently hold her neck. The hand on her waist slid around lifting the hem of her shirt slightly. The feel of his skin on the small of her back made her gasp softly. With a light tug, Lucas pulled Maya closer until their bodies touched.

"I'm going to kiss you now."

"Okay."

Maya's eyes flutter closed as Lucas' lips pressed against hers softly. Two months since she had felt his lips on hers and this was better than every dream that woke her since their last kiss. Tilting her head slightly, the kiss deepened and his arm wrapped around her waist pulling her in closer. As her lips parted, her arms wrapped around his neck. In one swift motion Lucas lifted Maya up and the hand on her neck pushed against the brick of the building for support. A moan escaped her lips and finally they pulled apart. Carefully Lucas guided Maya back down to the stair, his eyes locked on hers. As they tried to catch their breaths she let her hands rest on his chest. Maya couldn't decide if she wanted to say something on just pull Lucas back toward her so he was kissing her again.

"Do you love me Maya?"

"Of course I do Lucas."

"Then can we just pretend these past two months never happened. Because I want you and no one else."

"I'm not good for you Lucas."

"You're right Maya, you're not good for me. You are perfect for me."

Maya pressed her lips together to keep herself from laughing loudly.

"Impressive line there Huckleberry."

"It's still true Shortstack."

Shaking her head, Maya couldn't help but scoff at the grinning dork in front of her.

"You have got to get better lines if you want this to work out between us."

"Oh I'll get right on that Ma'am, top of my To Do list. Cross my heart."

Grasping his shirt in both her hands, Maya pulled Lucas down so their lips crashed together. Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly as his held her close. A tiny portion of their minds realized the school bell had rung, but neither of them were all that concerned


	21. Decisions

**...SURPRISE!...**

 **this chapter is a bit different than the others...but I've had it written for ages and I've finally decided I'm gonna post it.**

 **June**

Groaning loudly, Maya swatted absently at her phone alarm as it went off. Waking up was evil, waking up early for school was more so, only a few more weeks left. Pulling her phone in front of her face, Maya frowned realizing she didn't see her usual morning text from Lucas. It wasn't as if it was an official thing or anything, Lucas texting her every morning. However, it was pretty typical on school mornings. Something about making sure she actually woke up. Maya did think it was strange that her alarm was the thing that woke her and not his text. Pushing the disappointment aside Maya began her typical morning routine.

* * *

The start of school bell rang and still no Lucas. Riley, Farkle, and Zay had no idea where he was, but unlike Maya, they didn't seem too concerned. Closing their locker doors, Zay simply shrugged and walked off to his PE class while Riley ran off shouting over her shoulder something about a presentation for Spanish leaving Farkle resting against his locker.

"I'm sure he's just running late. It happens even to Mr. Perfect. I'll be sure to give him a very stern talking to when I see in him class."

"Thanks Farkle, I don't know why I'm so worried."

"It's cause you care."

With a pat on her back, Farkle made his way to Biology. Frowning, Maya closed her locker and slowly made her way to her own class. The disappointment from the morning had changed to a different feeling. There was a growing pit in the bottom of her stomach. Pulling out her phone, Maya sent a quick text to Lucas before sliding it back into her messenger bag and entering her class.

* * *

"Nothing? No one has heard from Lucas at all?"

"So he's sick, it's not that big of a deal."

"But he hasn't said anything to anyone? He always texts, even when he's sick."

"Then…he's... really sick?"

While her first comment was confident, Riley's second comment was filled with uncertainty. As far as she was concerned half a day without contact wasn't that big of a deal. It wasn't as if Maya and Riley hadn't gone a day without contact before, it was rare sure but it happened. While it always seemed strange to Riley when it happened, it wasn't until the second day that she ever started to worry. The way Maya was acting though was more than a bit worried.

"Somethings wrong."

"You don't know that Maya."

"Yes I do."

"How?"

"Because…because I do."

Maya didn't have a good explanation, at least not that one that would make any sense. It was just like at the playoff game when she didn't see Lucas on the court. She knew something was wrong before Zay even showed up to tell them. She knew it then and she knows it now. Her mouth opened a few times trying to think of more to say on the matter, the wide eyed attention from Farkle and Riley was not exactly helping the situation.

"He's Huckleberry, Mr. Perfect, even when he's sick. He wouldn't say nothing at all."

Part of her wanted one of them to say something, anything to make her stop worrying about him. It wasn't as if Lucas and Maya were codependent, nowhere near as close as Maya and Riley were. In fact they had always had an oddly even relationship when it came to time together and time apart. That fact just made Maya even more concerned that she was even concerned to begin with. A decision was finally made in her mind, in one quick fluid motion she had her bag on her shoulder and walking out of the cafeteria.

"Where are you going?"

Still walking Maya looked over her shoulder to her best friend.

"To find out what's going on with Lucas."

"But…it's only lunch, we have class."

"Never was much of the studious type anyways."

Riley opened her mouth again to speak but a hand on her arm stopped her. Farkle shook his head no slowly. Frowning Riley watched as her best friend walked out of the cafeteria before turning sharply to stare at Farkle.

"Why didn't you let me stop her?"

"Do you really think you could have?"

"Of course I could have, she's my best friend I'd make her see reason."

"Reason when it comes to Lucas?" A look of defeat fell upon Riley's face. "She's just checking in on him."

* * *

The phone hadn't been touched in over 12 hours, Lucas wasn't even sure if it was on. Turning his head he returned to his original spot staring up at his ceiling. Did he remember to charge it when he went to sleep? Did he actually go to bed last night? It wasn't as if he had gotten out of bed since his alarm when off in the morning. With a minimal amount of effort he looked down his body, still in jeans. Well he didn't change from last night so…that didn't help any of his questions. He did need to figure out what time it was though. For the countless time Lucas turned his head to the side to look at his phone, if he grabbed it he'd figure out if it was still alive, then he'd know what time it was. But did he really want to? No, the ceiling was a better option.

There was soft knock, followed but slightly louder ones. Still Lucas didn't bother to move. In place of the knocked there was now the sound of his window opening and curtains ruffling. It wasn't until he felt a shift in his bed that Lucas even bothered to find what was making all the noise. That blonde hair should not have been a surprise, and if Lucas was allowed himself to be honest about anything right now, he'd say he wasn't surprise but relieved to see her.

"You're missing school."

Sitting up his arm Lucas narrowed his eyes in on Maya as his response.

"Well it's expected from me. You're a different story."

Instead of responding Lucas fell back against his bed. It was becoming clear to Maya whatever was going on wasn't because Lucas was sick. After a few nudges, he shifted slightly on the bed making room for her to lie down next to him, taking his hand in her own.

"You didn't give me my morning wake up text."

"Well to be fair I'm not entire certain I went to sleep last night, so I didn't exactly wake up."

"What's going on Lucas?"

"Oh no…my real name? That's never good."

"I'm being serious."

"Well I'm not functional so that's not going to work."

"Lucas…"

"Again with the real name."

"Please."

"I…I just can't Maya."

Pushing herself up, Maya rested her arms on Lucas' chest so she could stare down at him. For a while she just watched him. There was something missing behind his eyes, something so essential to him. As she continued to stare Lucas reached a hand up and pushed a stand of hair behind her ear. Despite something missing, there was a faint smile on his face.

"I'm glad you showed up."

"Well that's a start."

Silence fell between them and eventually Lucas closed his eyes. After a few more minutes of watching, Maya rested her head down on his chest, so she could listen to his heart beating. Whatever was going on, at least that was as steady as always. Tight arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer, and it wasn't hard to drift to sleep even in the mid-afternoon.

* * *

"He expects me to move back in with him."

It was the first words Lucas had spoken in a few hours. He wasn't certain if Maya had actually woken up yet, but her breathing was almost too even, as if she was trying to be as still as possible. Of course he hadn't fallen asleep, his mind was still too busy trying to think everything out, but she had. It honestly helped though, just having her be there, having his arms around her, there was a comfort in it. It had helped him steer through the clutter in his head, realize what he was actually going to do. He had been ready to talk for a while now, but he didn't want to wake her. In the stillness he heard her breath catch in her throat at the statement. She was definitely awake now.

"Last night, he called. He's honestly expecting me to move back to Texas."

"When?"

"Over the summer, start my sophomore year with him."

Slowly Maya sat up and Lucas followed suit. Using the wall as a backrest they sat next to each other, unable to look the other in the eye. Maya was afraid his face would give away his decision on the matter, and that the decision was for Texas. Lucas' dad had mentioned it before, moving back Texas, when she had visited over winter break. _We'll get him back here eventually._ Maya thought it was just a passing comment, she never thought about it at all. Now though she was wondering if this plan had been set in motion ages ago.

"Is it something you…Do you want to go back?"

The silence that followed her question was deafening. Pulling her knees up, Maya wrapped her arms around her legs, doing everything in her power not to look at Lucas. Taking a deep breath she turned her head to look at Lucas. His head was tilted down, staring at his hands as he tried to keep them from fidgeting.

"No."

"So…your dad is making you?"

"I'm supposed to go. He's expecting me to want to go back. It's what I'm supposed to do."

"So you're going to go back?"

Another long silence followed. Maya leaned her head on Lucas' shoulder. It was Lucas after all; he was going to do whatever was expected of him. Right now that meant going back to Texas and leaving her. So soon after she had finally stop being stupid and got him back, he was leaving her. Blindly she reached her hand up, trying to find his, instantly he entwined their fingers.

"No. But I have to tell my dad that."

Maya's head shot up quickly at Lucas' response. He still hadn't bothered to lift his head up, continuing stare down at his hands, only now he was staring at his and Maya's entwined fingers. There was tightness in his voice as he spoke.

"He didn't even give me a chance to respond last night. He just…hung up after telling me the _good_ news. I spend the rest of the evening realizing I was going to have to say goodbye to everyone I cared about here. I couldn't face anyone; I couldn't even fully process what was going on in my head. I was going to go back. How was I supposed to tell everyone I was leaving. I didn't want to deal with it, I didn't want to think about it. So I just stopped."

"What changed?"

"You came."

Finally Lucas lifted his head, tilting it to the side to lock eyes with Maya. There was a soft smile on his face.

"I don't want to leave New York. I don't want to leave my friends. And I don't want to leave you. So I'm not going to. But now I have to tell all of that to my dad."


	22. Last to Know

**Well...the show's back on and I have free time soo...new chapter. If anyone is still out there reading it :)**

 **August**

"LET'S GO RILES!"

Shouting at the top of her lungs Maya cheered on her best friend. After getting a wave telling her to stop, Maya gave Riley a thumbs up before taking a seat on the bleachers a step in front of Lucas. With her arms resting on his legs she leaned back against her boyfriend.

"So how's she doing?

Turning her head Maya shrugged at Farkle's question as he walked up the bleachers. Once he took a seat on a step below the couple, Maya pointed out to the crowed. Riley was as energetic as always. There was no denying that smile on her face she definitely had the required pep. Unlike last year when she tried out, Riley hadn't borrowed a cheer uniform for the try outs, oddly enough it made her look more like she was actually trying out than just playing the role of a cheerleader.

"They've gone through the practice chant and I think she did great."

"She did that yell thing very well and she was in sync with the other girls…and…"

Maya tapped Lucas' leg awkwardly.

"Just stop…you've been around cheerleaders this entire year and you know absolute nothing about them do you."

Lucas shook his head slowly.

"Not a clue…what can I say, I like artists better."

Leaning forward, Lucas wrapped his arms around Maya and placed an awkwardly sloppy kiss on her check. Squirming out of his arms, she whipped her face. Despite laughing Farkle rolled his eyes.

"You two are disgusting you know that right?"

"Oh please at least we aren't you and Smackle. I mean don't even get my started. The two of you together…"

Shuttering Maya shook her head slowly. Instinctively she turned to Farkle so she knew when she needed to move out of his reach, at the very least she was waiting for his retort. It quickly became clear that neither was going to happen. Instead Farkle had already turned his attention back the football field. Glancing over her shoulder to Lucas, her boyfriend just shrugged in confusion.

"Farkle? Did you hear me?"

"Yea."

"Come on, we must banter about being awkwardly gross couples. A battle must ensue."

"Sorry, can't."

"How come?"

"Because Isadora and I aren't a couple anymore."

Silence filled their section of the bleachers. Below you should hear the faint directions given to the cheerleaders, but that was all. Maya pushed away from Lucas and scouted down to sit on the bench next to Farkle. Her eyes darted around looking for any sort of emotion coming from him. Sadness, anger, worry…anything at all. After a few moments of silence Farkle turned to look at one of his oldest friends and that was when Maya realized he had long since accepted it.

"Farkle when did this happen?"

"When school ended."

Two months ago, Maya's mouth gapped slightly as Farkle turned back to watch Riley on the field. With his attention turned Maya made a beeline to stare at Lucas. Quickly he shook he head, he was just as in the dark about the entire situation as Maya was.

"What happened? Why didn't you tell us Farkle? You know you can tell us anything."

With a shrug, Farkle continued to watch Riley.

"It's not a big deal. She decided public school just wasn't for her. She wanted to go back to Einstein Academy for high school. And you had just found out your dad wanted you to move back to Texas Lucas, it didn't seem like it really mattered."

It was Lucas' turn to move down the bleachers to sit down next to Farkle.

"You didn't tell us because of me?"

"Not really, it was just a contributing factor. Isadora and I were an experiment and the trial ended. I mean it was better than I expected, but also it wasn't everything that I wanted. It was the same for her. Maybe like doesn't repel like has I once thought, but I think there is something about having a bit more variations."

"Are you really okay Farkle?"

"Honestly I am Maya. Riley helped me a lot through everything."

"Wait…Riles knew?"

Farkle didn't even bother to look at Maya, instead he just nodded.

"She saw it happen so, it was hard for her not to know. I thought she would have told you. I mean I did ask her not to tell anyone. But I figured since it's you and all."

"I wish you had told me Farkle, I would have been there for you."

"We both would have been, you know that right?"

Finally Farkle's attention was drawn away from the tryouts in front of him. He knew all of that. If he needed Maya or Lucas for anything of course they would have been there for him. But it wasn't exactly as easy of a break up as he was making it sound to the two of them. Maya and Lucas had been nearly inseparable since the school year ended. Apparently have your significant other nearly leave half way across the country puts some things into a different perspective. Things tend to becoming very pretty serious suddently. It had been hard seeing a happy couple all that time. Luckily the couple seem to be preoccupied spending time alone making it a lot easier for Farkle to sort out his emotions with Riley's help.

"Trust me, I know that. You two had your own stuff going on and I'm doing just fine now."

"Farkle…"

Both of his hands rose up to stop Maya from speaking and to keep Lucas from starting. First he turned to Maya, a single finger held in front of Lucas to make sure he stayed silent.

"Next relationship of mine that ends I promise I'll come to you first. Isadora and I are remaining scientific colleagues. We did a lot of work together this past year and we don't want to lose any of it. But that aspect is over. Riley helped me sort everything out. It's...fine, now."

Maya began to respond but Farkle's head shook making her mouth close slowly. After a moment of prolonged eye contact, she nodded. Now it was Lucas' turn.

"You had enough going on without adding my own stuff onto it."

Lucas ignored his friend's shaking head.

"But you let me go on and on about everything with my dad and Texas and you never said a word. You had more than enough going on in your life; I didn't need to add my stuff onto all of that."

"It wasn't your decision to make Lucas. I needed to sort out things for myself. And I did. You're my best friend Lucas and that didn't change. If Riley hadn't been there, I would have told you."

Just as Lucas opened his mouth to respond he saw Maya's face over Farkle's shoulder. Her head was shaking slowly, telling him to leave it be. As Farkle spoke, Maya began to realize she and Lucas were turning this into something about them. They were beginning to miss the point. With a small incline of agreement Lucas closed his mouth then just nodded to Farkle. With a small pat on his best friend's back, Lucas scouted up a seat on the bleachers. Grabbing Maya's hand he pulled her up to sit next to him. As their hands entwined they started down at Farkle, as he started down at Riley.


	23. Next Step

**Part of me feels obligated to say that this chapter deals with a "mature" situation. While I know the characters I'm writing about are only Sophomores in high school, they are also a year older than the other students. The story I'm writing here will remain T, though I'm debating writing some M fluff separate of the main story. We'll see. Hope y'all enjoy this one.**

 **Decemeber**

Sitting in the corner of her bed, Maya sketched in silence. She hadn't moved from her spot in hours, not even when her mom and Shawn came in to say goodbye for the weekend. The quite never bothered her much, especially when she was drawing. It made it easier to hear her own voice. The silence continued for a few more hours until a faint tap on her window drew her attention away from her sketch pad. She didn't bother to move though, instead she just turned her attention back to the drawing. In a few moments she felt the bed shift under her boyfriend's weight.

"You know you could have just ringed the doorbell. My mom and Shawn left hours ago for their trip."

"I did."

That was enough to turn Maya's attention to Lucas. There was smirk on his face.

"You're joking right?"

"Nope. I rang the bell about 20 minutes ago and no response. I even tried to call."

Maya's eyes widened. Leaning across Lucas' lap she grabbed her phone from her bedside table. He wasn't lying, there were two missed calls from him and a few text messages. Slowly she found her way back to the corner of her bed, a sheepish smile on her face.

"Sorry Huckleberry."

"So what is more important than our date?"

"First of all, it wasn't an actual date. And just a Christmas present."

"For me?"

Before he got a response Lucas reached for the sketch pad. Maya's tight grip on the pad made it clear he was correct. After a moment of tug-of-war, Lucas fell backward dragging Maya with him. As she tumbled on top of him, they both let go of the sketch pad letting it fall the ground. His hands found their way to her waist.

"Can't you just wait until Christmas to find out Sundance?"

"I really can't. I need to know right now."

"What happened to Mr. Moral Compass? Shouldn't you be opposed to sneaking peaks at Christmas presents?"

"I use to be. But there is this girl that I spend way too much time with. She's a horrible influence."

Maya pushed off Lucas' chest to sit up. Her legs straddled his waist as he continued to lie down on the bed. A devious smile appeared on her face as she looked down at him.

"That's no good at all."

"Not even remotely. She even had me lie to my mom about where I was staying because her mom is out of town."

A look of false shock appeared on her face.

"Oh no! Why would you do such a thing cowboy?"

"Because I love her. I'm completely, utterly, and madly in love with her."

"Does that mean she could get you to do anything?"

"Undoubtable yes. Just don't let her know that."

"It'll be our little secret."

"Good. She has too much power over me as it is."

Winking, Lucas ran his hands up Maya's back gently pulling her down toward him. Even though she knew better, in the back of her mind Maya was waiting for her mom or Shawn to open the door. It wasn't as if they were doing anything, but this position, they had walked in a few too many times. Before Lucas and Maya's lips touched, she pulled away. It was Lucas' turn to finally sit up. Releasing her waist, one elbow held him up while his other hand pushed Maya's hair behind her ear.

"Was that a bit too much?"

"No. "

"Maya…"

His voice was soft, making it clear he wasn't pushing. Unfortunately though, he did have a habit of making his feelings a little too clear. It wasn't always, but there were still moments when Maya pulled away when emotions become too serious. There was a fine line between what she could and couldn't handle. He knew she loved him too, even in those moments, but some habits were just hard to break.

"Really. I'm very pleased to know I could get you do anything I want."

"Poor choice of words on my part wasn't it."

"Oh without a doubt Sundance. I'll be saving that information for later. Truthfully I was just…expecting Shawn or my mom to open that door."

"That's not going to happen. They are gone for the weekend…right?"

There was a tone of nervousness in his voice. Technically speaking he wasn't allowed in Maya's bedroom. Not after last time. He was still shocked that Shawn hadn't killed him right then and there. Laughing as the nervous look on her boyfriend's face, Maya shook her head.

"They are definitely gone. I got the text saying they had already made it to the cabin."

"So I won't be run out of the house this time?"

"Not unless I do it myself."

Letting out a breath of relief Lucas left back against the bed. With an arm behind his head, his other hand returned to its resting spot on Maya's waist. Leaning forward slowly, her lips brushed against his softly. As his hand ran light up her back, he pulled her tightly toward him. In one swift moment, his other hand was on the base of her neck and he flipped them over. An elbow on the bed kept most of his weight off of Maya as he pulled away slightly.

"Planning on running me out Shortstack?"

"Never. You're stuck with me."

"Good."

Smirking, Lucas leaned forward crashing his lips against Maya's. Her hands found their way under his shirt, taking their time to explore the entirety of his back. Lucas' back stiffened as she took his bottom lip between her own and nibbled softly. Hesitantly she pulled back into the bed.

"Sorry…was that…"

Her breath was strained as she spoke. The moment she looked into his eyes, Maya realized she had no reason to be hesitant. Biting her lip she smirked. Her hands found the hem of Lucas' shirt and she tugged, ripping it from her Lucas took the shirt off in on swift motion. Sitting up, Maya took the time to let her hands roam across his chest this time. Just as her hands roamed so did her eyes. It wasn't as if this was the first them they had been in this specific position, but it was at this moment they usual stopped. There always the fear of someone coming in. At least that was always the excuse they both made when it came to moving forward. There was nothing to stop them this time, except them.

Her hands stopped moving, finding their resting place on the faint lines of his abdomen. As their eyes locked, his hand reached forward finding its resting place on her check. His thumb caressed her check softly before moving to hold her neck. Licking his lips he lowed them back down to hers. Her breath caught in her chest as she left his fingers brush against her skin just above her hip bone. With a bit of maneuvering Maya and Lucas were able to pull off her shirt. Laying her down back onto the bed, it was Lucas' turn to let his eyes roam. While their touch was gentle, there was a hunger in their eyes.

"We can stop, anytime you want."

"I don't want to."

Slipping an arm around her waist, Lucas pulled Maya up. Their skin pressed together as his free hands slowly slid up her back. Maya bit her lip to keep herself from giggling while Lucas attempted to undo her bra with on hand. Once the clasp was undone, Maya slowly slid the straps of her bar off her shoulders. It dropped to the ground next to the forgotten sketch pad.

"I love you Maya."

"You're just saying that so you can get me in bed."

Lucas jerk away quickly. His eyes wide.

"Do you really think that?"

"Absolutely not Huckleberry. I love you too." There was short pause. "Now that…that's just so I can get you in bed."

Winking, Maya crashed her lips against Lucas' before he could say a word. They fell back against the bed. His fingers tangled in her hair as his lips made their way from her lips to the soft skin above her collarbone. A moan escaped her lips as her eyes flutter closed.

* * *

The morning sun slowly slipped through the curtains in Maya's room. It wasn't enough to wake her, but it was enough to wake Lucas. Carefully his pushed himself up slightly to he took take a look at her. Her blonde hair was tousled, covering most of the pillow they had shared. The sheet barely made it past either of their waist. Despite his desire not to wake her, Lucas couldn't help let his finger run across her skin. It wasn't the first time he had gotten the opportunity to wake up next to her. But this time was different, this was perfect. Slowly she began to stir. Turning on her side her eyes opened to face Lucas.

"Morning."

"Good morning Huckleberry."

"Sleep well?"

"Until someone decided to wake me up yes."

"It's 10am. Was I supposed to let you sleep for longer?"

"Yes."

Chuckling, Lucas kissed his girlfriend before either of them could get another word in. Adjusting slightly Maya rested her head on Lucas' chest and he wrapped his arms round her, holding her closer. The rest of the world didn't seem to exist as they laid there in the morning light. Neither had any interest in moving from their spot. A few minutes passed before either spoke.

"When is your mom expecting you home?"

"Tomorrow at some point."

"Wait really?"

Maya could feel the nod from her resting place. Even though she knew Lucas couldn't see, she smiled brightly at the fact.

"How did you pull that off?"

"I just said I was having a guys' weekend at Farkles'."

"And she believed you?"

"Well, we've done it before."

"And what happens if she tries to get a hold of you at Farkles's?"

"Then he tells her I'm in the bathroom or playing one of his virtual games…or anything else he can think of."

Now it was time for Maya to sit up. Her hands rested on his chest as she glanced down at her boyfriend. There was a spec of disbelief in her eyes.

"You're having Farkle lie for us?"

"Yup. He had his own plans for the weekend so he said he had no problem doing it."

The disbelief grew.

"Farkle has plans that he needs to lie about?"

"Maya…is that really what you want to be talking about right now?"

Her mouth opened to respond. But she closed it just as quickly as it opened. Part of her wanted to respond with a yes. The raise of Lucas' eyebrow was enough to remind her there were better thing to be doing than discussing Farkle.

"No. Not really."

"Good. Now, how about breakfast?"

"I can't cook."

"Then it's a good thing I can."

Grinning, Maya nodded in agreement and sat up completely. Pulling the sheet around herself she watched as Lucas got out of bed. Her eyes lingered on his body until he pulled on his boxers that had been thrown on the floor the night before. Once he was dressed Maya stood from her bed. With a devious smirk she dropped the sheet as Lucas watched before grabbing his shirt from his hand and pulling it over her body. Walking up to Lucas she paused for a brief moment before turning toward the door. Glancing over her shoulder Maya quickly realized his eyes were locked on the hem of his shirt that just barely covered her butt.

"So what's for breakfast?"

Before she knew what had happened, Lucas was in front of her his arm wrapped around her lifting her up. Instant kicked in as her legs wrapped around his waist and their lips crashed together. Her arms wrapped around his neck pulling him in as close as physically possible. Lucas was already trying to remove his shirt from her body as they crashed back into the bed.


	24. Finally

**Here's another chapter, if there are still people out there interested :) Hope you enjoy**

 **February**

For the past two months Lucas and Maya had a tendency to be MIA. With Valentine's Day just around the corner it had only gotten worse. In fact it had been a few days since Farkle and Riley had seen them with the exception of school. In all honestly, Farkle and Riley were okay with the situation, it made things easier for them too. Entering Topanga's Farkle found Riley in a back corner window seat. It hadn't been their usual seat because there were so many more of them most of the time. Now though, the small bench and the two person table were perfect. The small table already had a second hot chocolate for Farkle, Riley drinking hers.

"Hot Chocolate, how did you know?"

"Do you ever drink anything else in weather like this?"

"So you just made a very smart assumption."

Shaking her head Riley just laughed, taking another sip of her drinking, whipped cream stuck to the top of her lip. Leaning forward Farkle reached over and lightly wiped away the whipped cream with his thumb. A soft smile grew on her face as they locked eyes. For a moment it was just the two of them, not even the soft mumble from the rest of the café could break the silence between them. Without realizing it, they began to slowly lean toward each other. Just as they were mere inches apart the bell of the opening door rang and they quickly jumped apart.

"It's not them."

"How can you be so sure Farkle?"

"You really think they are going to be showing up, with Katy joining Shawn on one of his articles?"

"Alright you make a valid point."

"I've been known to be smart."

The tension on Riley's shoulders that appeared when the door opened slowly dissipated. Her back sloughed slightly as she leaned into Farkle's shoulder. His arm wrapped around her waist, his thumb caressing her side softly.

"We need to tell them."

"No we don't."

"So you want to be sneaking around? Jumping every time a door opens?"

"They didn't tell us."

There was a hint of malice in Riley's voice as she spoke. Enough to make Farkle push away slightly so he could look her directly in her eyes. For a moment his eyes roamed her face, trying to determine what to say, and how serious the malice in her voice was.

"Are you really still upset about that? It's been almost two years. I figured…"

"I'm not!"

Farkle's eyebrow rose at Riley's shout.

"I'm not, and…and I am."

There was a silence as Farkle simply waited. This was Riley after all, in a bay window. He didn't need to push to get her to talk. He never really needed to. As long as he was sitting there with her, she's open up. Sometimes it took longer than others, but all he needed to do was be there. It was an easy job for him.

"I don't know if I'll ever be completely over it. The lying. I always thought Maya and I were closer than that, that we'd never lie to each other. That there wasn't anything we could ever keep from each other. Now though, I'm starting to get it. Why she didn't say anything, why they both didn't. "

"Why then? Why didn't they want to say anything."

"Because it wasn't about us. And this, this isn't about them."

A soft smile graced Riley's lips as she shrugged. Farkle returned it with his usual bright overly expressive grin. Once she returned to her resting spot on his shoulder, Farkle's arm was once again around her waist and his head rested atop Riley's. It was comfortable like this, it always had been. Now though, it was even better. It just felt right.

"What is this about then Riley? We've never really talked about it."

"Do we have to?"

"I want to."

"What if after we do, everything changes?"

"Hasn't it already?"

"I like to think it hasn't."

"Oh."

There was a sadness in Farkle's voice. Ever since their first date in December, if it really was a date, Farkle had wanted something more. He had always wanted something more, but then he was a kid. Now he knew more, now he understood more. With Riley's comment though, it was as if the air had been sucked out of his lungs. His back straightened, forcing Riley to pull away.

"Farkle…"

"Riley it's fine. If you don't want anything to change, then nothing will change. Friends. I'll always be your friend. You know that."

There was a smile that didn't match the rest of Farkle's face. But he kept it there as Riley eyed him.

"Farkle I just meant..."

"You meant you didn't want something more. I thought we were...I don't know, it doesn't matter anymore. It was the wrong hypothesis. It happens."

"That's not what I meant."

Riley made a move toward Farkle but his hands were held up to stop her. He took a move backward then stood up. His hands were still held out in front of him. He took a step back from the bench and the table when Riley stood up as well. He meant it, that he would always be her friend. Ever since the moment he said that, he meant it. But it was so easy to just fall into Riley, he loved her, he would do anything for her. If she was to get too close right now, before they talked, he was worried what he would agree to, or what wouldn't get decided. He needed to limit the number of variables.

"It's actually pretty simply Riley. At least in this situation. We've been friends our entire lives and if things don't change, we'll stay friends for the rest of our lives. But this," he gestured between them, "It hasn't just been friendship since December. It's already changed. If that's not what you want, then we'll change back. But those are only two choices, change back or forward and continue to change."

"Then we change."

"Which way?"

There was a pause, far longer of a pause than Farkle had hoped. It was making him nervous. He wanted to move forward with Riley. He really had thought they already were. Maybe they were being slow about it, but he thought it was because they were being cautious, not that they weren't changing at all. Riley took a small tentative step forward. When Farkle didn't move away from her, she continued to walk toward him.

"Forward, definitely forward."

The overly expressive grin returned to Farkle's face. Riley's slow steps turned into a near run for the last final steps. His arms opened with the intent of simply wrapping her up in them when she reached him, Riley had a different idea. Her lips crashed against his. Their first kiss stared out rushed, the dam that had been holding back every emotion back until this moment had finally burst. As Farkle's arm pulled Riley in closer, the kiss softened. A few moments past before they pulled apart, their arms dropped to their sides, but Farkle reached for Riley's hand, entwining their fingers.

"We should probably tell them."

"Oh they are already know."

Turning quickly Farkle and Riley found the voice. Zay was leaning against the door into Topanga's a to-go coffee in his hand. He was leaning a bit too casually. As if he had been there too long, probably because he had been. Despite being startled, Farkle and Riley hadn't let go of each other's hand.

"What do you mean Zay?"

"What do you think I mean Riley? Maya and Lucas already know, they've known since December."

"How is that even possible?"

"Because you two are so bad at hiding it."

"No I mean, we didn't decide for ourselves what we wanted until just now."

"Just cause you two were the last to know doesn't mean everyone else didn't. Probably want to still tell em officially, but that's just what I'd do."

With a shrug and a smile, Zay turned and walked out the door, leaving the new couple alone. Watching the now empty spot for a moment, they slowly turned their heads to look at each other. Small shy smiles grew on their face. Maybe they were the last to know, officially at least. But that didn't really matter. Farkle tugged slightly on Riley's hand, forcing her to stumble toward him. Finally releasing her hand he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leaning his head on hers.

"Should we go find them?"

"Not just yet."


End file.
